longest star trek series

Every STAR TREK Series, Ranked from Worst to Best

Star Trek is a pop culture franchise that just won’t quit. Now over five decades into its existence, it has outgrown its humble beginnings as a low-budget sci-fi show with a loyal cult following, and into a true cultural juggernaut. Who doesn’t know the phrases “beam me up” or “ live long and prosper? ” It’s ingrained in our collective psyche. And the franchise is going stronger than ever, with several shows currently airing. But of all these new series, and the many that came before, which one is the cream of the crop? It’s time to evaluate each of the eleven series set in the Final Frontier from the past 55 years .  Here’s our ranking of every Star Trek series, from worst to best.

11. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1975)

Yes, it’s at the bottom, but I’d never say this is a bad series. There are some smart sci-fi scripts spread throughout the show’s two-season run, notably the time-travel episode “Yesteryear,” which gave us a glimpse into Spock’s childhood. But the animation was really limited due to budget constraints, and the voice actors didn’t even record together (and it shows). We give it points for keeping the Trek flames burning in the long decade between the original series and Star Trek: The Motion Picture , but it still ranks last. If only because there’s simply not enough of it.

10. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-Present)

We’re now three seasons into the first animated Trek show since the ’70s, and also the first overtly comedic sh o w in the franchise’s history. Lower Decks centers around a second-tier starship’s junior crew, and so far, it has gained quite a cult following. The mix of irreverent humor and lovable characters has made it very endearing. It’s also very faithful to Star Trek lore (if not Star Trek storytelling sensibilities .) But the show is ultimately too fluffy to place any higher. That could change down the line of course. But for now, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is near the bottom. They’re probably used to it.

9. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

This is the fourth and last Star Trek series of the Rick Berman era. The show ran on UPN for four seasons, making it the shortest run of the modern Trek series (so far). Despite a winning cast lead by Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, this prequel show to the original Trek felt stuck in the television tropes of the prior decade. It didn’t really even feel like a true Star Trek prequel until the show’s wonderful fourth and final season. But that season’s not enough to save the show’s legacy as a whole. Also, the theme song was pretty cringe-worthy and out of place for a Star Trek series.

8. Star Trek: Picard (2020-Present)

This live-action series saw the return of Sir Patrick Stewart as the (now retired) Jean-Luc Picard . Although the series started out promisingly , its plot about a race of artificial lifeforms was ultimately way too similar to Battlestar Galactica and Blade Runner, both of which did the same story, but better. It also showed the once-Utopian world of the 24th century as a place now filled with bitter, broken people, which was a bummer. Stewart is fantastic as always, and his inner journey helped the show remain very watchable. But the promise of a full TNG cast reunion in the third and final season could push this series much higher. 

7. Star Trek: Discovery (2017-Present)

Star Trek: Discovery is the franchise’s current “flagship show.” Four seasons in, the show is definitely a mixed bag. On the pro side: the cast—headed by Sonequa Martin-Green—is truly fantastic, and it has the best production value of any Trek to date. But like too much modern Trek , it often feels like it’s cribbing from other (more popular) franchises. Its prequel timeline/continuity was also handled messily from the get-go.

The series’ first two seasons are set about a decade before the original series. But in season three, the show went way past where any Trek has gone before, by jumping 1,000 years into the future. This was ultimately a good thing, as the journey past the prequel timeline and into an unknown future gave the show a much-needed shot in the arm. And season four further improved upon the third. Maybe with time, Discovery will move up higher on this list.

6. Star Trek: Prodigy (2021-Present)

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first animated all-ages Star Trek series since the 1973 Saturday morning cartoon show. Because of this, many fans dismissed it offhand before it ever aired. But Prodigy , about a group of misfit kids who commandeer a prototype Federations starship, the Protostar , in the far reaches of space, turned out to be absolutely delightful. And very true to the core, exploratory spirit of the franchise .

The camaraderie between the main cast of kids is always heartwarming, and this series has more ties to greater franchise lore than most other modern Trek shows. Of course, the addition of Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway, both the “training hologram” version, and the actual Admiral Janeway, that’s just the cherry on top. One of the best modern Star Trek shows, “kid’s show” or not.

5. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-Present)

It almost feels like cheating, putting a show with just one season behind it so high on this list. But so far, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the best Trek series of the modern streaming era. It also has had the best first season of any Trek since the original series. Technically a prequel to the original show , SNW fulfills the promise of that first unaired pilot episode “The Cage,” by focusing on Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his Number One (Rebecca Romijn). Of course, young Spock is there too, played by Ethan Peck. Together, they’ve created a new trio of instantly likable headliners.

SNW returns to the “one and done” story format of classic Trek , but gives it all a modern sheen. The color scheme and ship designs may be retro, but it’s never done in a dismissive, kitschy way. In many ways, SNW reminds us why the original format of the show, about a crew of diverse people engaged in pure exploration and diplomacy, is still the best way to go. The characters are great, the actors are great, the writing is great. So we only expect SNW to climb further up this chart as more seasons roll in, assuming they don’t drop the ball.

4. Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Let’s get this out of the way: Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway was a great Captain , and the rest of the cast was terrific as well. But this series never fully lived up to its premise. It was supposedly about a Federation starship lost in space, years from home. A ship with a crew made up of former enemies, now forced to work together. But you’d almost never know it watching the show, which often felt like a series desperately trying to capture the glory of the TNG years.

Many episodes of Voyager, especially in the first few seasons, felt very familiar to those that had aired just a couple of years earlier on The Next Generation . However, enough episodes scattered throughout are indeed quite terrific, but there really should be more of those for a series that lasted seven seasons. We’re glad the legacy of Voyager lives on with Seven of Nine on Picard, and with Janeway as a principal character on Prodigy.

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

This show had everything going against it when it premiered in 1987 . How does one follow up on something as iconic as the original Star Trek ? And with all new characters and a new starship Enterprise ? Well, after a very wobbly first two seasons, the show found its footing in season three. It then became a true standout sci-fi series with dozens of classic episodes . Seasons three through seven are, in many ways, as good as this franchise gets.

Patrick Stewart is arguably the best actor ever to sit in the Captain’s chair, and the characters of Picard, Data, Worf, and the rest have all become pop culture icons. It also has one of the best series finales of any show ever. TNG represented Star Trek at its peak mainstream popularity, and no show before or since has matched its ratings power. The only reason this doesn’t rank slightly higher is that the first two seasons really are kind of a mess, and lower the value ever so slightly.

2. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Much like TNG before it, Deep Space Nine took about two seasons to find its footing. This despite always showcasing a stellar cast, headlined by Avery Brooks, playing the first African-American lead in a Star Trek show. But man oh man, despite the rough start, when it finally did click, it became one of the most ambitious science-fiction series ever produced for television. It did serialized, complex genre storytelling a good decade before that became the norm.

DS9 dealt with themes of religion and war and politics among the usual Star Trek tropes. Not one character was the same at the end of this series as they were at the start of it. The same can’t be said for most other shows on this list, even the best ones. It also expanded and deepened our understanding of the many different species introduced in previous Trek shows. Plus it gave us the franchise’s best villains in Gul Dukat, and later, the Dominion. This is one Trek series that broke the mold.

1. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

Without Gene Roddenberry’s original series, there simply is no Star Trek franchise, period. It created the template that eight of the series that followed it picked up on. The original series was ground zero for modern nerd fandom, and it made pop culture icons of William Shatner’s Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock. But beyond all that enduring cultural legacy, the character dynamic of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy remains one of the greatest ever seen in popular entertainment.

Looking back, we can see that Star Trek’s first season was nearly flawless, with almost thirty amazing episodes written by legends of the science-fiction genre. Season two is great as well, and season three is…well, it is less so. Regardless of that wonky last season though, the iconic nature of Star Trek: The Original Series , which spawned six feature films and a 21st century reboot of the characters, still wins hands down. Forget the dated music, visual effects, and occasionally cheesy acting. When it was at its best, you just couldn’t beat the original series.

Featured Image: CBS

Originally published in 2019.

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The best Star Trek series, ranked

Ready to settle in and watch some Star Trek episodes? Since there are so many, we’ve ranked all of the different series to help you get started on your quest.

Star Trek is one of the greatest franchises ever created. If you're new to the world of transporters and holodecks, you have so much wonderful content to catch up on — of course, some would say too much content.

Since there are over 850 episodes and counting (all of which you can stream on Paramount+ ), watching all of Star Trek can be more difficult than fighting a Gorn in the desert. To make things easier for you to get started, we've ranked every series (besides the short-form series Short Treks ) of this long-running franchise. Some of these choices were a bit daunting to play favorites with, but, like Jim Kirk, there's no belief in the no-win scenario.

Without further ado, here's our list of every Star Trek series ranked from worst to best.

11. Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)

Star Trek: Picard was meant to be like comfort food to fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation . And whether fans were turned off by the changes in franchise direction with shows like Discovery or just wanted to see Patrick Stewart back in action, Paramount clearly thought this show would be almost universally beloved.

That didn't happen . The warm and fuzzy feeling of seeing a few familiar faces in the first season evaporated because of an often-confusing plot about androids. The second season continued this confusion with a time-travel story that often bordered on incoherence. While many Star Trek shows take a few seasons to hit their stride, it was shocking that so much of this relatively short series was seemingly created with "make it so-so" in mind.

10. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–1974)

If you're in the right mood (or you've been sipping on some Saurian brandy), Star Trek: The Animated Series has some wacky entertainment value. Any given episode had the writers throwing in stories like a giant version of a beloved character. And the animators threw some fun curveballs, including making the embodiment of evil into a shirtless hottie that would make even shirtless Kirk jealous.

However, this animated show was often caught between two very different worlds. It wasn't fully a return to the (relatively) grounded exploration of space, science, and morality of The Original Series . And it didn't fully lean into the chaotic possibilities of a cartoon world (something Lower Decks would later handle much better). So, while more and more elements of The Animated Series have become canonical thanks to shows like Discovery , and it's fun to hear the voice acting of the Original Series cast, this cartoon is one that all but the most hardcore fans can skip.

9. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005)

Despite what you might have heard, Star Trek: Enterprise is not a bad show. It just didn't start as a very good show. The series was tragically canceled after the fourth season, which was arguably when it had just begun to hit its stride (thanks in part to longer story arcs and a really fun glimpse into Trek 's popular Mirror Universe).

At the end of the day, Enterprise is a show best enjoyed by Star Trek fans that like to pore over the Memory Alpha wiki and familiarize themselves with Trek minutiae. As a prequel show, it laid the groundwork for everything from Starfleet policy to alien interactions that other shows explore in more detail. If you don't have a shot at winning any Star Trek trivia contests at your local bar, it's still worth watching how captivating Scott Bakula can be in the captain's seat.

8. Star Trek: Prodigy (2021–present)

Star Trek: Prodigy was very difficult to rank. Unlike the other two Trek cartoons, this series was explicitly designed for younger audiences. Paramount clearly wants to use this show as a gateway for these younger fans to explore the wider world of Star Trek , but there are enough elements (most notably the return of Kate Mulgrew , reprising her role as Captain Janeway via a holographic form) to keep veteran franchise fans invested.

Ultimately, your enjoyment of this series will be largely dependent on how much you enjoy animated/YA entertainment. If nothing else, you should check out the first two episodes of this show to see just how beautiful the CGI animation can get.

7. Star Trek: Discovery (2017–present)

If Enterprise is the Star Trek show cut off too soon, Discovery may very well be the first Star Trek show to outlive its welcome, though it will end after its fifth season . There are many things the show gets right, from nifty effects to quirky characters to amazing casting (seriously, Sonequa Martin-Green is electrifying whenever she is on screen).

The show veers from a disjointed-but-interesting first season to a mesmerizing second season, which gets a real shot in the arm by introducing Captain Pike (played by the inimitably charming Anson Mount ) and Spock (played as a perfect homage to Leonard Nimoy by Ethan Peck). Later seasons, however, prove that the series can't get away from galactic-level threats, and character drama begins overriding plot development enough that we want to slingshot around the sun and return this series to its earlier roots.

6. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001)

Like many Trek series, Star Trek: Voyager had a rocky beginning, and it was often overshadowed by the excellent Deep Space Nine . Ironically, Voyager dramatically improved with what could be a cynical casting stunt: adding the alluring Jeri Ryan (constantly wearing a catsuit, no less).

Though it really looked like a desperate ratings stunt, Ryan turned the reformed Borg Seven of Nine into the most interesting character on the show. And, despite their alleged clashes behind the scenes, the actress helped to elevate every scene she shared with Kate Mulgrew. Between the new cast member, improved writing, and Mulgrew being nothing short of a damned icon, Voyager soon became appointment television, and it's definitely worth binge-watching for modern audiences.

5. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020–present)

Lower Decks is an impressive show for many reasons, including the fact that its execution elevates its initial premise, which focuses on the lives of the lower-level staffers aboard the starship. Because showrunner Mike McMahan previously wrote for Rick and Morty and the animation takes its cues from the cartoon adventures of Rick Sanchez, many fans may have assumed Lower Decks would simply be " Star Trek meets Rick and Morty ."

Thankfully, that's not the case. Aside from animation similarities, the main element these two cartoons have in common is a breakneck, borderline chaotic pace. But as entertaining as it can be, Rick and Morty is an often nihilistic show with gags revolving around how nothing really matters. Lower Decks , however, is a lighthearted series that serves as the cure to modern Trek . If you've dismissed other contemporary series such as Discovery and Picard because they are grim, violent, and serious, Lower Decks is a wonderfully lighthearted alternative that is never afraid to poke fun at its own franchise.

4. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a truly pleasant surprise to fans of the franchise. Set years before Captain Kirk sat in that famous chair, we see Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount reprising the role) lead the U.S.S. Enterprise into bizarre adventures alongside some familiar characters (Ethan Peck returning as Spock, for example) and a few new ones.

Part of what helps this show shine is that it marks a return to episodic Trek in that every installment is a self-contained adventure as opposed to other newer series like Discovery and Picard , which build entire seasons around a single plot. The characters all ooze with the same swashbuckling charm of The Original Series characters, and we can't wait to see more of their adventures. We also can't wait to see more of Anson Mount's amazing hair (arguably the most awesome practical effect in the franchise).

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)

Star Trek: The Next Generation has the dubious honor of being the first Trek show where veteran fans warn against new fans starting at the very beginning. Early episodes ranged from stupidly horny (planetary inhabitants in the episode "Justice" were barely wearing scraps of clothing) to ridiculously racist ("Code of Honor" may very well be the worst Star Trek episode ever made). Many of these problems stemmed from the fact that despite being called "The Next Generation," the show was trying to recreate The Original Series (right down to using some of the same writers and shamelessly reusing scripts from the scrapped Star Trek: Phase II series).

As fans like to joke, the show got better as Commander Riker's beard got longer. Season 2 was a major improvement, which was then usurped by season 3, which brought in new uniforms, new sets, and Michael Piller to head up the writing team. Just like that, TNG embraced its differences from its famous forerunner (Picard was cerebral whereas Kirk was impulsive, Data yearned for emotion whereas Spock detested it, and so on). At last, the gamble paid off, and the next generation of this franchise ushered in the next generation of Star Trek fans.

2. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969)

What can we say about The Original Series that hasn't been said already? Gene Roddenberry successfully fused science fiction with American pioneer spirit to create his vision of this " Wagon Train to the stars." The episodes were both fun and thought-provoking in equal measure, and William Shatner as Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock, among many others, turned in performances that seared themselves into our collective pop culture consciousness.

The Original Series offered social commentary about racism, imperialism, and (often to Spock's annoyance) the human condition. And the blend of big acting, ambitious sets, and poignant plots helped this show become something truly transcendent. The OG Star Trek shaped not only the future of the franchise but television itself, and it's not hard to see why it continues to win over new generations of fans year after year.

1. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999)

Placing Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the top spot is perhaps a contentious decision. However, this series did more than measure up to the quality of The Next Generation (a lofty feat in and of itself). The show also made a number of storytelling and production choices that have helped DS9 seem more relevant in recent years than ever before, including tackling issues about race, religious fundamentalism, and war on a regular basis.

Perhaps the main way DS9 feels so pertinent is that the show broke the longstanding Trek rule of making only standalone episodes. As the powers that be focused more on creating their next show, Voyager , DS9 showrunner Ira Steven Behr was able to get away with creating long story arcs and frequent episode callbacks. The end result of this is that Deep Space Nine is the first of the pre-streaming era Trek shows that is perfect for binge-watching.

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Star Trek's Longest Running Series, Revealed

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Star Trek: 10 Best Scenes from the Reboot Trilogy, Ranked

Star trek's section 31 is a test case for the future of the franchise, the entire star trek reboot trilogy now streaming for free.

The success of a show lies in the relationship it builds with its audience. It is why Star Trek: The Next Generation’s debut in 1987 was a touchstone moment for the brand originally created by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. It can be argued TNG laid the foundation for decades of future trek’s to the outer reaches of space because of the way it connected with its audience. This is why this series, led by Captain Picard and crew, has earned a special spot above all others as the longest-running series in the history of Starfleet .

Star Trek has proven, beyond all measure, that it understands its audience, generation after generation, while still adhering to its core identity. Part of the success of the franchise is its ability to re-brand and re-calibrate for new audiences. Star Trek: The Next Generation created the blueprint and became the most successful series of all.

Star Trek: TNG was able to adapt very quickly to what the audience responded to, as characters and storylines moved in and out of the background. One of its great strengths was the way it was able to organically evolve its characters season after season. From Data’s exploration into the human psyche to Worf’s softer side, we understood the evolution. The audience was invested in the characters early in the series and was eager to go on adventures with them.

RELATED: Star Trek: Why The Next Generation Allowed Families Aboard the Enterprise

It is hard for shows to hold the creative line for so many years without taking the audience to a place they just aren’t willing to go. Much of the series success is rooted in the reality blended science fiction the show portrayed. When TNG debuted in the late 80’s many original Star Trek fans were still able to get on board with a new show that felt familiar.

As the series moved forward, its reputation grew. Throughout the series, technological advancements allowed for the already expensive series to feel even larger. From the holodeck to more elaborate sets and locations, the show kept feeling bigger and bigger. The cool concepts and strong writing helped hold the audience until the series finale, which drew 30 million viewers in 1994.

RELATED: Star Trek's William Shatner Is Preserving Himself Through Interactive AI

The show racked up 178 episodes, a Star Trek series record that stands today. Between 1987 and 2005, the Star Trek brand rolled out more than 620 original episodes of television between TNG, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise . An unprecedented run for the brand that then waited over a decade before original shows came back to TV with 2017’s Star Trek: Discovery.

The enduring legacy of the original crew of the Enterprise-D spawned into 4 movies and a spin-off series, Picard . It shows the strong feelings fans still have for these characters and the investment they still have in them 25 years after TNG wrapped. Star Trek has been bold in its continual march to re-brand and retool the product for new eras.

KEEP READING: Star Trek's Michael Dorn Shares His Pitch for a Worf Spinoff Series

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Star Trek TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer

Updated: September 8, 2023

The Star Trek universe kicked off in 1966 with the original series , created by science fiction visionary Gene Roddenberry , and later exploded into a massive film and TV juggernaut.

While the original series, which starred William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, saw only three seasons, it made an indelible impression on the sci-fi genre. Live-action TV follow-up Star Trek: The Next Generation , with  Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard leading an ensemble cast, captivated viewers from 1987–1994 and inspired three more series that would air within the next decade:  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ,  Star Trek: Voyager , and  Star Trek: Enterprise .

Starting with 1979’s  Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Paramount Pictures has been regularly cranking out Trek films with the original series and Next Generation casts, as well as a rebooted version in 2009 with Chris Pine as Starfleet Academy cadet James Kirk and Zachary Quinto as young Spock. ( See the Star Trek films ranked here. )

In 2017,  Trek  returned to small screens with season 1 of CBS All Access streaming title  Star Trek: Discovery , set during a tumultuous wartime era about a decade before the original and starring Sonequa Martin-Green . The new series marked a TV franchise reboot by Alex Kurtzman , writer on the 2009 Star Trek film and its sequel  Star Trek Into Darkness .

RELATED: All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

The year 2020 gave fans a celebration of one of its most iconic characters with the premiere of Star Trek: Picard and Stewart reprising his role in the new streaming series that launched its second season in 2022. New live-action series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was also released in 2022, and its first season was quickly Certified Fresh with a 100% Tomatometer score (it has since dropped to 99% on one review). The show’s second season, released in 2023, was nearly as well received and is Certified Fresh at 97% on the Tomatometer.

The TV franchise has since introduced two animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks , about the misfit support crew on one of Starfleet’s least-important ships, and kid-friendly Star Trek: Prodigy , which tells the story of a diverse group of teens who inadvertently become the crew of a prize starship and learn important lessons in their subsequent adventures. The latter series — No. 3 on our list below — has since been canceled by Paramount+, but a petition to save the show has gathered over 33,000 signatures.

Have a look below to find out which series score highest with critics in our Trek TV by Tomatometer list.

Disagree with the results? Tell us in the comments which series you think should have been ranked higher (or lower).

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) 98%

Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973) 94%

Star Trek: Prodigy (2021) 97%

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) 92%

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) 92%

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) 91%

Star Trek: Picard (2020) 89%

Star Trek: Discovery (2017) 84%

Star Trek (1966) 80%

Star Trek: Voyager (1995) 76%

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) 56%

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Every Star Trek TV Show, Ranked

51 years ago, after a failed pilot and thanks to the good will of comedic legend and astute producer Lucille Ball, Star Trek: The Original Series premiered. At its best, The Original Series married hard science fiction, expansive mythology, a sincere interest in diversity, blistering intelligence, and belief in the good of humanity. I’m not sure creator Gene Roddenberry realized how grand a franchise Star Trek would grow into, but all these years later, it now includes action-oriented blockbusters, comic books, an animated series, parodies, homages, and a potent place within the cultural imagination. But Star Trek has always been at its best on television, where its verbose, philosophical leanings have the chance to truly flourish. In honor of the latest addition to the franchise, Star Trek: Discovery, which premieres on CBS on September 24, here’s a ranking of every live-action Star Trek series from worst to best.

5. Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Enterprise is perhaps the most maligned series in the franchise’s history, so much so that it’s credited with Star Trek ’s long absence from pop culture until the sleek J.J. Abrams reboot. But watching Enterprise proves that the truth is a bit more complex: The series took a long time to find its feet, only hitting its stride in its final season with episodes like the two-parter “In a Mirror, Darkly” and “Borderland” — which featured mainstay Brent Spiner as Dr. Arik Soong, the grandfather of the man who created Data (the android played by Spiner in Star Trek: The Next Generation ) — only to end with one of the most infuriating series finales I’ve witnessed. Enterprise takes place 100 years before the USS Enterprise ’s five-year mission involving Kirk, Spock, and the beloved crew from The Original Series. The crew is led by Scott Bakula’s Jonathan Archer, a dedicated and bold captain with a dash of space-cowboy flair (and the curious wrinkle of his character’s prejudice toward Vulcans). Enterprise ultimately failed in its uneasy relationship with canon in early seasons and poor characterization. It made the mistake of looking backward, something that has plagued the franchise ever since.

4. Star Trek: Voyager

At first blush, Star Trek: Voyager had all the makings of an excellent series. It undoubtedly had the best premise: The USS Voyager is thrust into the unexplored Delta Quadrant alongside a terrorist organization known as the Maquis. The two crews reluctantly join forces after great losses, as the entire medical crew is dead, with a holo program picking up the slack. Worse yet, it will take them 75 years to journey. There is no Federation to help them and enemies lurk around every corner. Voyager was one of the most diverse series in the franchise’s history, thanks to characters like the half-Klingon, half-human Latina character B’Elanna Torres played by actress Roxann Dawson, fan favorite Seven of Nine (played by Jeri Ryan), former Maquis turned First Officer Chakotay (Robert Beltran), and of course, the steely eyed woman at the helm, Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). Unfortunately, Voyager reigns as the most infuriating and creatively haphazard Star Trek series for how it squandered such a great premise. Voyager was saddled with several annoying and pointless characters, uneven storytelling, and a misguided dedication to the Prime Directive, despite the crew being far from Federation space. Worse yet was the characterization.

Captain Janeway was one of the greatest examples of how diversity and representation is hollow without meaningful characterization. Mulgrew loaned a sly sense of humor and flinty nature , but the character lacked consistency, often acting hypocritical in ways that didn’t make sense. Many of the other characters lacked a strong throughline: Some were annoying spectacles (Neelix, I’m looking at you), while others like B’Elanna and Seven of Nine were undercut by relationships that lacked chemistry. Yes, Seven of Nine was a fascinating character (despite being treated primarily as eye candy) who continued the franchise’s interest in the question, “What is humanity?” Unfortunately, her entrance in the fourth season led to an unbalanced series, as already uneven characters were marginalized further. I may sound a bit harsh on Voyager , but that’s only because its flashes of brilliance were truly noteworthy. When Voyager left behind its conservative approach to its premise, it gave us stellar episodes like “Year of Hell Part 1 and 2” and “Timeless,” proof that the show would have been remarkable if it were a bit more audacious.

3. Star Trek: The Original Series

What can be said about Star Trek ’s first iteration that hasn’t already been said? Although it lasted only three seasons, The Original Series laid the foundation for everything to come, spawning one of the longest-running, most important fandoms in television history. Some of Star Trek’ s most important tenets began with The Original Series : its intellectual curiosity, the Prime Directive, its use of alien cultures to interrogate modern concerns, and its devotion to diversity. It was nothing short of revolutionary, granting TV a few of the first Asian and black characters who weren’t reduced to stereotypes. Keep in mind the show premiered a few years removed from the March on Washington and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. But the worth of The Original Series goes beyond that: The five-year mission of the USS Enterprise introduced us to standout characters like Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols, who was once convinced by Martin Luther King Jr. to stay on the show) and my personal favorite, First/Science Officer Spock (the ever-graceful and nuanced Leonard Nimoy). The cast chemistry, sincerity, brilliant stand-alone episodes, and subsequent films like The Wrath of Khan led The Original Series to root itself deeply in American culture.

2. Star Trek: The Next Generation

Watching television while my mother braided my hair was a nightly ritual I learned to cherish. These are some of the few childhood memories that I hold dear. One series we watched together was Star Trek: The Next Generation. I’m not sure if it was Commander William Riker’s rakish grin, the stalwart nature and intelligence of Capt. Jean Luc-Picard (who inspired me to pick up the daily habit of drinking tea), or Deanna Troi’s somewhat hilarious confrontations with her mother (played by Majel Barrett, a.k.a. the First Lady of Star Trek for her previous appearances in the franchise and being the voice of the computer, along with being Roddenberry’s wife), but soon enough I was obsessed. Still, my love for The Next Generation is not nostalgia. It took the traditions of The Original Series to interrogate them deeper. Over the course of seven seasons, The Next Generation fine-tuned everything that made The Original Series so beguiling: an intellectual curiosity, political discussions, a charming cast that came across truly as family, and dynamite two-part episodes and cliffhangers.

The Next Generation also suggested a hopeful future for humanity that is somewhat hard to imagine: a future on Earth free of racism, sexism, or classism as the Federation keeps peace and explores the galaxy. Perhaps it’s this hopefulness that made the show the most successful Star Trek series during its airing. These days, it would be easy to disregard TNG as a relic of a television era when a lack of stylistic visual flair and a dedication to stand-alone episodes was the norm, but the series has a startling intelligence and empathy that illustrates why the franchise was so potent in the first place.

1. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

“So, I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But the most damning thing of all … I think I can live with it. And if I had to do it all over again, I would.” Captain Benjamin Sisko said these words during one of the most incisive, politically complex episodes in the entire Star Trek franchise, “In the Pale Moonlight.” This monologue, delivered in actor Avery Brooks’s rich baritone voice, encapsulates what made Deep Space Nine unlike anything before or since in Star Trek history. Though blessed by Roddenberry before his death, DS9 benefited from disregarding certain ground rules, like how the crew wasn’t supposed to have longstanding conflicts. Perhaps more important, it balanced each season with great stand-alone episodes enriched by longform arcs — becoming one of the first TV shows to do so. With Sisko, it also introduced Star Trek ’s first black captain (although he began the show in a lower position). The show even reintroduced TNG characters like Lieutenant Worf, granting them further depth and dimensions.

If earlier iterations of Star Trek granted a utopian glow to modern humanity, Deep Space Nine revealed the price of maintaining such progress. It was darker, yet never without purpose. It was more nuanced in terms of portraying relationships between adults. DS9 used its premise of Sisko and his ragtag crew on a space station to interrogate the perils of war, the power of religion, terrorism, and the price of freedom, all while creating one of the most poignant depictions of black fatherhood that has ever appeared on television. It also had some of the best acting and direction within the franchise’s history. Deep Space 9 was Star Trek at its most artful and impactful. More than that, it was science fiction at its most incisive.

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10 Valid Reasons Fans Weren’t Happy With The Boys Season 4

10 best ella purnell movies and tv shows, ranked, 7 times south park got it wrong.

Since premiering in 1966, Star Trek has captured the imagination of viewers all over the globe, utilizing its best characters to depict a diverse and exciting future. The original series launched a multimedia franchise that spawned toys, games, books, and a successful film franchise. Yet despite how far the franchise has gone, it is forever linked to television. It changed television and launched a massive continuity with series crossing over with one another years before a shared universe became the prime directive of every studio.

After over a decade off the air with a primary focus on films, the franchise returned to its television roots with Star Trek: Discovery in 2017 and since then has been a major focus for Paramount+ original shows , with the streaming service having the goal to have one Star Trek series on air at any given point in a year. With the release of a new series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds set to premiere on Paramount+, take a look at all the Star Trek series and see how they rank against one another.

11 Star Trek: Enterprise

Designed as a prequel to the entire Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Enterprise follows Earth's first starship capable of traveling at warp five, named the Enterprise, and focused on Earth's early attempts at contact and relationship with various alien species like the Vulcans, Klingons, and more.

The series' first two seasons originally tried to distance itself from the franchise, dropping Star Trek from the title and simply being called Enterprise, breaking from tradition with a pop song in the title sequence. In season three, the series shifts to a more serialized approach, with the series being heavily influenced by September 11th in a storyline that sees the Xindi attack Earth ( Enterprise premiered just two weeks after the September 11 attacks).

Despite the charming Scott Bakula in the lead, the series ultimately never caught on in the way other Star Trek series did, and when it went off the air in 2005 its ending also marked a time in the franchise where no Star Trek property on television or film series running. However, the series' legacy still lives on due to its unique place in the universe, and is referenced in both the Kelvin timeline and prime timeline series since it aired.

10 Star Trek: The Animated Series

The first spin-off of the original Star Trek , Star Trek: The Animated Series continued the adventures of Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise Crew (minus Chekov) in a cartoon series aimed at a younger audience. Due to being animated, the series could round out the cast with more alien characters to inhabit the Enterprise crew, and the bright colorful aesthetics of the Star Trek franchise lent themselves well to animation.

Related: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Plot, Cast, and Everything Else We Know

While the series only lasted two seasons, its popularity among older children and adults helped prove the brand still had value in it and led to the creation of a new series Star Trek: Phase II which would then be reformatted into Star Trek: The Motion Picture . A new animated series from Nickelodeon debuted nearly 50 years after the 1973 launch of this animated Star Trek.

9 Star Trek: Picard

The long-awaited return for Patrick Stewart as fan-favorite Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Picard was something fans had been waiting 18 years for. The series also marked the first time audiences had seen the franchise move forward in the timeline, as everything after Star Trek: Nemesis was a prequel. The series even deals with the aftermath of the supernova that destroys Romulus, which sends Spock Prime into the past to kick-start the Kelvin timeline.

Picard sees a darker future than many might have expected, with the Federation becoming more paranoid and closed off from helping other civilizations. While a sharp contrast to the original vision of Star Trek 's utopian future, it is a storyline very much born of the current moment, with nationalism has been on the rise across various countries. Star Trek: Picard is a limited series, with season three set to be the final one, and will reunite Stewart with the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation hopefully giving fans of the series the proper goodbye that Star Trek: Nemesis never did.

8 Star Trek: Short Treks

An anthology series, Star Trek: Short Treks are, as the title implies, small shorts set within the franchise that help flesh out the world and its character. The series features characters from Star Trek: Discovery, and one episode ties into the inciting incident of Star Trek: Picard, acting as a little prequel.

While not vital viewing, each short is a nice small sampling of the rich world of Star Trek and highlights the unique characters that truly make the franchise. The short format is a storytelling device that more franchises should take advantage of, as it can help richen the experience and build a universe.

7 Star Trek: Voyager

Premiering just one year after Star Trek: The Next Generation ended and in the middle of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's run, Star Trek: Voyager was a new attempt for the franchise. The series followed the adventures of the crew of the ship Voyager, but the premise of the series was about returning home as the ship found itself stranded in a far-off corner of the galaxy, the Delta Quadrant, about 70,000 lightyears away from Earth. It was a similar approach to past series like Lost in Space and the original Battlestar Galactica , but it was a new approach for Star Trek and it proved rather successful, as it lasted seven seasons.

In keeping with Star Trek 's progressive forward-thinking approach, the series was known for the first woman lead in the franchise history, Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). The series fleshed out the Borg, including the fan-favorite breakout character Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), and with a large cast became the most gender-balanced of the Star Trek series. It may never have received the same cultural admiration that The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine, did but it still found a way to stand out all the same.

6 Star Trek: Lower Decks

While much of Star Trek is focused on the heads of the ships, Star Trek: Lower Decks is a series entirely focused on the low-ranking support crew of the starship Cerritos (and named after the iconic 167th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ). The series is the second animated Star Trek show and the first outright comedy, as it has fun playing with the franchise lore for comedic effect. Lower Decks offers a unique perspective on the franchise. While the idea of doing an adult-orientated animated show may have been off-putting to some fans or Trekkies who take the franchise very seriously, the overall addition of Lower Decks in the wider franchise is a good thing. It shows sometimes it is okay not to take everything so seriously.

5 Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery was the franchise's grand return to television. Premiering in 2017, 12 years after Enterprise concluded, the series was one of the launch titles for the then-new streaming service CBS All Access (renamed Paramount+). The show was another prequel series to the original series focusing on the crew of the experimental science vessel Discovery. The main focus of the series is on Michael Burnham, the previously unmentioned adoptive human sister of Spock (and an attestation to Star Trek 's progressive nature, naming a female character Michael). After season two, the series jumps forwards to the 32nd century to not interfere with the franchise's already established canon and allow Star Trek to explore a new time period.

Throughout its run, Star Trek: Discovery has constantly been reworking itself, changing with each season to a new status quo. This ability to reinvent itself makes each season unique not only in the scope of its series run but the wider Star Trek franchise, making it a great entry point for audiences who were introduced to the series by the J.J. Abrams movies .

4 Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy was created as an attempt to grow the Star Trek franchise out to appeal to a younger audience. Focusing on a group of young aliens on a prison colony who discover an experimental Starfleet ship, the Protostar, the group must learn to work together as a crew and find out their place in the galaxy. The series marks a number of firsts for the Star Trek franchise, as it is the first CGI animated series. Also due to that fact, it is fully allowed to get rid of some restraints of the live-action series, as Prodigy is the first series with an all alien cast (the only human-like character is the ship's A.I. based on Captain Janeway from Voyager ).

Related: Why a Star Trek: Worf TV Series Should Happen

It also marks the first time the main characters are not connected to Starfleet, as some of the crew have no knowledge of the organization while others are distrustful of it. Star Trek: Prodigy is a great and easily accessible entry point for (especially younger) audiences that explains many of the franchise's most famous concepts and phrases. It also works as a great show for kids and adults alike, as it has the bright colorful aesthetic of the original series, while also the modern serialization that many animated series have embraced. After just one season, the series has proven itself as one of the best in the franchise and has something to offer everyone.

3 Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation follows the adventures of Captain Jean Luc-Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the Enterprise 1701-D, as they continue to explore and seek out new civilization. Star Trek: The Next Generation truly updated Star Trek for a new age, as it was set 78 years after the events of the original and with a time jump that showed many of the conflicts which defined the original (such as the war with the Klingons) had been resolved, made apparent by the Klingon crew member. Like the best of Star Trek , it truly showed that the future always could be better.

After a rocky first season, the series found its footing in and became a pop culture phenomenon that ran for seven seasons. Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced an exciting new batch of characters as well as the famous villainous alien threat, the Borg. The two-part episode 'Best of Both Worlds,' which saw Picard assimilated by the Borg, is one of the most famous episodes in television and cemented the series as must-watch television. The series is arguably the most famous outside the first, proven by when The Next Generation took over the film series with 1994's Star Trek: Generations, followed by three sequels.

2 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

This might be controversial. Building off the success of Star Trek: The Next Generation , Paramount greenlit Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . As opposed to the classic Star Trek series which were set aboard a starship, Deep Space Nine took place at a space station between Federation space and a wormhole connected to the Gamma Quadrant. The series also featured the first time an African American was the lead of a Star Trek property, with Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks).

Star Trek: Deep Space Nince was a success lasting for seven seasons, and it pushed the franchise in new exciting directions. It went to the moral grey area of the series, in contrast to the utopian vision creator Gene Roddenberry had for the property ( Deep Space Nine was greenlit after Roddenberry passed away). While The Next Generation was an update of the Star Trek formula, Deep Space Nine was a deeper exploration of what Star Trek could be.

1 Star Trek: The Original Series

The one that started it all. While Star Trek: The Original Series may not have the best visuals or the most complicated stories, it more than makes up for it in the sheer spirit of imagination on display. Over the course of 69 episodes, Star Trek promises to take viewers to strange new worlds with new civilizations and delivers on that premise with every installment. The original series has the perfect blend of smart political science fiction and swashbuckling action that various later installments either lean on, one or the other. Every series in the franchise that has followed has sold itself as being different or similar to the original, which remains the measuring stick for Star Trek.

Despite only lasting three seasons, this series set the visual hallmarks that have stuck around in the public consciousness. Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Bones, the Enterprise, Tribbles, and more have stayed culturally relevant. These characters were so beloved that they went on to star in six major motion pictures from 1979 to 1991, and when it came time to reboot the franchise, bringing it back to the basics is what excited audiences again. Star Trek: The Original Series set the template, and after all these years still remains the high mark.

The Most Important Dates In Star Trek History

As sci-fi fans know, Star Trek is one of the longest-running media franchises in modern times. Since the original series premiered in September 1966, some iteration of the voyages of the starship Enterprise (or a related spin-off) has been continuously available on TV, in theaters, on bookshelves, through video games, and via streaming. Not all of them have been successful, of course ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , anyone?), but there's rarely been a time in almost six decades when Star Trek fans didn't have a version of their favorite sci-fi saga to watch, read, or play.

What has made Star Trek last so long? It's been a combination of indelible characters, remarkable sci-fi concepts and stories, and the franchise's uncanny ability to comment on the times no matter what decade it's in. From Gene Roddenberry's original vision of a hopeful, inclusive future to the darker, more complicated edge of shows like Star Trek: Picard , the franchise has continually held up a mirror to humanity and showed us at our best and our worst.

With over 50 years of production behind it, Star Trek certainly has its share of important milestones in its development and ongoing evolution. While the future of Trek itself is unwritten — the "undiscovered country," as a Klingon leader once called it — here are, for now, the most important dates in this fascinating franchise's history.

Gene Roddenberry puts his 'Wagon Train to the stars' on the road (March 11, 1964)

Star Trek officially came to life on March 11, 1964, when former pilot and police officer turned television writer Gene Roddenberry penned a 16-page outline for a science fiction TV series he dubbed " Wagon Train to the stars." The show was also loosely inspired by Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels , with Roddenberry planning to use the sci-fi framework to tell morality tales about modern society.

In his original conception, the U.S.S. Yorktown was the vessel at the heart of the show, commanded by Captain Robert April. Among the crew were a female executive officer only known as Number One, a doctor named Phillip Boyce, and a first lieutenant of indeterminate extraterrestrial origin called Mr. Spock. Nestled within those 16 pages were also some 25 story ideas, a number of which eventually became the basis of Star Trek episodes.

While many things changed along the way — including the name of the ship from Yorktown to  Enterprise — the essential idea remained the same. Roddenberry shopped his premise to several TV networks and production companies, with all but one passing — Desilu Studios, owned by Lucille Ball . Desilu in turn sold the pitch to NBC, which commissioned a pilot called "The Cage." Star Trek was on the launchpad ... until NBC rejected the pilot.

The Original Series sets course for strange new worlds (Sept. 8, 1966)

NBC liked some of what it saw in the first Star Trek pilot, "The Cage," but the story was deemed " too cerebral ," and network execs were also wary of the demonic-looking Mr. Spock , played by a relatively unknown actor named Leonard Nimoy.

NBC requested an unprecedented second pilot, and Roddenberry delivered a more action-oriented tale called "Where No Man Has Gone Before." While Spock was retained, nearly every other role was recast — including the ship's captain, now named James Tiberius Kirk and played by young Canadian thespian Willian Shatner. The second time was the charm, and NBC picked up the series .

On September 8, 1966, Star Trek premiered on NBC with an episode called  "The Man Trap." The fifth entry filmed in regular production, it had the Enterprise encounter the last member of a shapeshifting alien species that needed salt to survive. It introduced several characters who would become part of Star Trek history, including Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Communications Officer Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), physicist (later a helmsman) Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), and Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney). The Enterprise 's stated five-year mission was on its way.

The original mission ends two years early (June 3, 1969)

It's been debated for years whether Star Trek always fared low in TV's Nielsen ratings. While the show was never an unconditional hit, it may have actually done better with audiences than has long been assumed. Nevertheless, NBC was looking to cancel the show after its second season, not just because of ratings but due to constant creative and budgetary battles with Gene Roddenberry.

A massive letter-writing campaign  led to Star Trek getting renewed for a third season, with Roddenberry — who'd stepped back from the show during the previous year — promising to return as full-time producer in exchange for a decent time slot. But when NBC stuck the show in the "death slot,"  10 PM on Friday nights , Roddenberry walked away and appointed Fred Freiberger as the new producer.

With Freiberger at the helm , the third season — which suffered from even steeper budget cuts — is universally considered Star Trek 's worst. While several episodes did stand out, nothing matched the quality of classics from the first two seasons like "The City on the Edge of Forever," "Balance of Terror," or "Mirror, Mirror." Viewers began to desert the show, too, and on June 3, 1969, the last episode produced, "Turnabout Intruder," aired on NBC. The five-year mission had been cut short.

Star Trek lives! (January 21-23, 1972)

Following its cancellation by NBC, Star Trek immediately went into syndication to local TV outlets in markets around the country, with its 79 episodes often rerunning five days a week in late afternoon or early evening time slots. As with so much about Trek , the results were unprecedented . Viewed by a new generation of fans who had missed the show in its original run, Star Trek became even more popular after its cancellation than it had ever been during its network heyday.

As sales of Star Trek merchandise (including books, comics, model kits, and toys) began to rocket upwards and the show's dedicated fan base — known at first as "Trekkies" and later as "Trekkers" — began to grow, the first official Star Trek convention was held in New York City from January 21-23, 1972 . While there had been unofficial Trek gatherings before, this one was solely devoted to Trek and featured guest appearances by Gene Roddenberry, original series story editor D.C. Fontana, and other production personnel.

A few hundred fans were expected to attend, but by the end of the weekend, the Lakeland Ledger said the estimated head count was 3,500 . The second annual convention, held the following year, drew some 7,000 Trekkers. Star Trek was very much alive in the hearts and minds of its fans, but the question was, could it live again on the screen?

Star Trek: The Motion Picture takes the Enterprise out of dry dock (Dec. 7, 1979)

By the mid-1970s, a Star Trek revival seemed inevitable, although whether the Enterprise would fly again on the small screen or in movie theaters wasn't so clear. An animated children's series based on the show — with voices by many of the original actors — lasted for just 22 episodes in 1973 and 1974. Meanwhile, plans to launch a Paramount television network with a show called Star Trek: Phase II were set in motion in 1977. Even though the series got well into pre-production — with Gene Roddenberry producing and all the original cast except Leonard Nimoy reprising their roles — Paramount corporate parent Gulf & Western pulled the plug in 1978.

Star Trek wasn't dead, however. Paramount officially announced Star Trek: The Motion Picture , directed by Robert Wise ( West Side Story ) and based on a revamped version of the Phase II pilot script. Nimoy agreed to return, with the story centering on the Enterprise 's encounter with a massive alien intelligence headed towards Earth. Overbudget,  barely completed in time for its premiere, and hampered by dodgy visuals and a flabby story, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was nonetheless  a box office hit  when it hit theaters in December 7, 1979, even if its price tag made it less than profitable. Nevertheless, there was an audience out there that wanted more adventures in "the final frontier."

Spock's sacrifice stuns the world (June 4, 1982)

While Star Trek: The Motion Picture was wildly expensive (and thus less profitable), it did prove there was an audience out there who would watch the Enterprise on the big screen. So Paramount Pictures ordered a sequel. Television producer Harve Bennett was hired to bring the movie in on time and on (a much lower) budget, while Nicholas Meyer was recruited to direct and write a new draft of the script. There was one obstacle, however. Leonard Nimoy refused to return ... unless Mr. Spock was killed off.

The result was Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , in which Kirk and the Enterprise met up once again with Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), the popular villain from the show's first season episode "Space Seed." And the movie did end with Spock sacrificing himself to save the ship — a stunning, poignant finale that left audiences reeling . But Trek II was a tremendous hit , with fans and critics alike proclaiming that the movie did a much better job of capturing the flavor of the series.

Of course, Spock eventually came back, and there have been (to date) 11 more Trek movies, including four more with the original cast, four with The Next Generation crew, and three with the Kelvin Timeline ensemble. But thanks to a great story and Spock's now-legendary death, The Wrath of Khan remains the gold standard of Trek on the big screen .

The Next Generation launches a new mission (Sept. 28, 1987)

By 1986, it was finally decided by Paramount that Star Trek would return to broadcast television . But acknowledging that the original cast members were both aging and requiring higher salaries, the new show would feature a fresh crew of mostly unknown actors .

Announced in October 1986 and premiering a year later on September 28, 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation was launched as a syndicated show — sold independently to local stations instead of through a TV network — and moved the story 80 years into the future, with a sleek new Enterprise commanded by an imposing Frenchman named Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Gene Roddenberry once again was at the helm (for the first year) and kept to the basic Trek template .

Although the show didn't really find its groove until its third season, The Next Generation was a hit out of the box , with The New York Times noting that its ratings were often comparable to shows on major networks. In addition to Picard, it introduced new favorites like the android Data (Brent Spiner) and the Klingon officer Worf (Michael Dorn), plus formidable enemies like Q (John de Lancie) and the terrifying Borg collective. Running for seven seasons — over twice that of the original series — The Next Generation began a  new era for the franchise .

The Great Bird of the Galaxy soars into history (Oct. 24, 1991)

Gene Roddenberry passed away on October 24, 1991 at the age of 70. Nicknamed "the Great Bird of the Galaxy" by original Star Trek associate producer Robert Justman (after a throwaway line in the episode "The Man Trap"), Roddenberry was inextricably connected with the franchise he created for the rest of his life. In addition to creating and producing the original show, he produced or consulted on all the feature films until his death, and he created Star Trek: The Next Generation , although his failing health forced him to step away after its first season.

While Roddenberry's  talents and overall influence on Star Trek have been re-evaluated over the years — and his  personal foibles, such as alleged misogyny, brought to light  – there's no questioning the immensity of his contribution to pop culture and science fiction. Star Trek was the first truly intelligent sci-fi show with regular characters. The way it addressed issues of the day through genre window dressing was groundbreaking for its time. The mythos that Roddenberry conceived — along with his refreshingly optimistic and forward-thinking view of humanity — has endured for nearly six decades and will assuredly stand for many more.

Deep Space Nine takes Trek down a different path (Jan. 3, 1993)

Several years after The Next Generation premiered, Paramount wanted to develop a new series set in the Star Trek universe. With Gene Roddenberry passing away in 1991, this would be the first Trek show where he'd have no involvement. TNG producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller were charged with creating the new series, which ended up being called  Deep Space Nine .

Premiering on January 3, 1993, DS9 was in its own way just as groundbreaking as the original Star Trek . It was the first Trek series to feature a Black commander (Benjamin Sisko, played by Avery Brooks), it was set on a space station instead of a starship, and it was darker in tone than any previous Trek iteration. It featured interpersonal conflicts among the crew and inhabitants of the station (unlike past shows), and it also introduced story arcs that stretched across entire seasons, such as the Dominion War.

Political intrigue, occupation, terrorism, and galactic conflict were all part of DS9 's seven-season run. While not as highly rated at the time as TNG , DS9 has been cited by many fans as  the best Trek series of all . The two that followed in its wake — Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) and the prequel show Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005) — weren't as acclaimed, and the latter's cancellation after just four seasons began a 12-year drought of Trek on TV.

Welcome to the Kelvin Timeline (May 8, 2009)

Seven years after the last movie to feature the Next Generation cast (2002's poorly received Nemesis ) and four years after Enterprise went off the air, Star Trek was reinvented again — this time by Lost and Fringe creator J.J. Abrams as a major feature film that would tell the origin story of the classic Star Trek cast.

Abrams and his team came up with a brilliant concept. Certain events in their story would create an alternate reality — dubbed the Kelvin Timeline — in which their Trek characters could forge their own adventures while preserving the original canon as the "Prime" universe. This also allowed for one last appearance by Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime, showing up to dispense crucial information to a young James Kirk while also symbolically passing the torch.

The cast of Abrams' Star Trek was what made it work. Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, and Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy gave this new Trek an energy and freshness that had been missing for a while.  Critics and  audiences responded favorably, with the film earning an astonishing $386 million. While the next two Kelvin films — 2013's  Star Trek Into Darkness  and 2016's  Star Trek Beyond  – were, respectively, a  half-baked remake of The Wrath of Khan and a  box office underperformer , the 2009 Star Trek remains an exciting and bracing entry in the series.

Leonard Nimoy lived long and prospered (Feb. 27, 2015)

Leonard Nimoy, beloved by generations of fans as Mr. Spock,  died on February 27, 2015 at the age of 83 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While other revered members of the original Star Trek cast had passed before him — including James Doohan (Scotty) in 2005, DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy) in 1999, and Mark Lenard (Spock's father, Sarek) in 1996 — Nimoy's death hit especially hard. Not only was Mr. Spock arguably the most  well-known and popular character in Trek history, even more so than Captains Kirk and Picard, but Nimoy embraced his alter ago (after a  brief estrangement ) and advocated for Trek 's message of optimism, tolerance, and humanism until the end of his life.

While some of his castmates were hobbled in  their post- Trek careers by typecasting, Nimoy enjoyed a long and fruitful life afterwards that included more acting (on TV, in films, and on the stage), directing (including two Trek films and other non-genre work), writing (he authored two memoirs and several books of poetry),  music ,  photography and  activism . Yet with all these accomplishments to his name, he was and always shall be "our friend" — the logical, brilliant, loyal, and courageous Mr. Spock.

Star Trek: Discovery boldly goes into the future (Sept. 24, 2017)

After more than a decade with no new Star Trek on TV, CBS decided to launch its new streaming service, CBS All Access, with a  brand new Trek series called Star Trek: Discovery . Set  a decade before The Original Series , Discovery didn't quite look like a prequel but more like another  alternate reality version of Trek . The diverse cast was led by Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, who rises from mutineer to captain of the title ship amidst a war with the Klingons, conspiracies inside the Federation, and strange occurrences throughout the galaxy.

Discovery had a troubled lift-off and went through  several showrunners before settling down in its second season. Nods to the canon with new versions of Captain Christopher Pike and Mr. Spock — who also happens to be (surprise!) Burnham's adopted brother — either lured in or turned off some wary Trekkers, as well.

While Discovery has polarized the fan base , its success has led to a Trek resurgence on TV, with  Star Trek: Picard , a new animated show called Lower Decks , and at least two more series — including the Pike-Spock-centric  Strange New Worlds — in the works. Thanks to Discovery ,  Star Trek looks certain to boldly go where no movie or TV franchise has gone before.

Upcoming Star Trek TV Shows: What's Ahead For The Sci-Fi Franchise

Here's what's ahead for Star Trek.

It’s a golden era for Star Trek tv shows, as the franchise is churning out more content than ever before. Fans with a Paramount+ subscription can stream a plethora of old and new content from one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time.

There’s a ton of new Star Trek content coming in the future, including the debut of a new show as well as the return of all the ones fans already know well. For those who need a breakdown of what all to expect, look no further because here’s where and when all the new Trek will arrive in 2023 and beyond. There’s even some information on planned shows that aren’t quite ready yet, but hopefully, we’ll see them soon enough. 

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 - Premiering On April 4th 2024

Captain Michael Burnham and the crew are back, and based on what we've seen and heard about Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 so far, some changes are on the way. Season 5 will see the crew race against others in an attempt to secure an ancient power, and will apparently have a tonal shift that will skew more toward action and adventure. We also learned that this coming season will be the final adventure , as Paramount+ decided to end the series after this coming season. The final season will kick off in April and, fingers crossed, leave an avenue open for more stories with these characters in the 32nd century. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 - In Production

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is coming back for Season 3, and is currently filming for the upcoming season. It's likely the season will kick off with the second part of the adventure started in the Season 2 finale . Pike must decide whether or not he's going to listen to Starfleet and retreat to avoid further conflict with the Gorn or to stay and try to save the kidnapped crew members. I have a hunch I know what decision he'll make, but I'm also very invested in seeing if Scotty will remain with the crew and what other adventures will come as well. 

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 - Coming In 2024

Paramount+ originally renewed Star Trek: Prodigy for Season 2, but announced later that it had been canceled alongside other shows on the platform. While the news was a bummer to many and encouraged responses from stars like Kate Mulgrew , there is a silver lining. After some talk with other companies, Paramount managed to negotiate a deal where the series will transition over to Netflix , and Season 2 will release over there. At this time, it's unknown whether or not this will lead to more seasons of Prodigy , but fans are thankful they'll at least get to see the season that was being worked on coming up in 2024. 

Section 31 Movie - Production Complete

Section 31 was one of the first Star Trek spinoffs announced after Discovery , and yet it took the longest to get off the ground. The series was supposed to Michelle Yeoh ’s Phillipa Georgiou and her efforts in the secret ops Starfleet faction that does the jobs that others in the organization would rather not know about. Other former Discovery stars, like Shazad Latif, were involved at one point, but some believed the odds of it happening aren't great after Michelle Yeoh's Oscar win .

It turns out Yeoh was interested in making it happen, and Paramount+ decided to alter the idea to a movie . Fans are excited about the project all the same, and ready to see Michelle Yeoh back in her role. Production on the film is officially underway, and it's looking like a premiere sometime in late 2024 to 2025 is likely.

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Starfleet Academy - Production Starting In 2024

Alex Kurtzman revealed not long ago that Star Trek is actively working on another new live-action series , and it’s going to be set at Starfleet Academy. Of course, we don’t know exactly what era this series is set to take place during or who is going to star in it yet. We don’t really know much of anything, though it’s worth noting that Star Trek: Discovery did write off its character Tilly when she took an offer at Starfleet Academy. The episode where that happened seemed like it could be a backdoor pilot for the show, but again, we have no idea. We do know that the writer's room is underway, but details are scant beyond that.  

As shown above, there’s still a ton of Star Trek on the way in 2024, and beyond. The only way to watch these shows is with a Paramount+ subscription , which is totally worth picking up with the increasing amount of shows and movies available to watch. 

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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Star Trek: Discovery: Season Five to End Longest-Running Original Paramount+ Series

by Trevor Kimball, March 3, 2023

(Photo by: Marni Grossman/Paramount+)

The crew of USS Discovery will be taking their final tour of duty. Paramount+ has announced that the upcoming fifth season of the Star Trek: Discovery series will be the show’s last. The series is the streaming service’s longest-running original show. The final episodes will begin airing sometime in early 2024.

A sci-fi series, the Star Trek: Discovery  TV show stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, David Ajala, and Blu del Barrio. A prequel to the original Star Trek series, this drama follows the crew of the USS Discovery of the interstellar government known as the United Federation of Planets (UFP). Season four, released in late 2021 and early 2022, finds Captain Burnham (Martin-Green) and her crew facing a threat unlike any they’ve ever encountered. With Federation and non-Federation worlds alike feeling the impact, they must confront the unknown and work together to ensure a hopeful future for all . 

Paramount+ announced that season five would be the end of Discovery in a press release:

PARAMOUNT+ ORIGINAL SERIES “STAR TREK: DISCOVERY” TO CONCLUDE WITH FIFTH AND FINAL SEASON IN EARLY 2024 Paramount+ to Celebrate One of Its Longest-Running Original Dramas Globally with Events in Key Markets Around the World Leading Up to the Series’ Finale From CBS Studios, “Star Trek: Discovery” Stars Sonequa Martin-Green, David Ajala, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz and Blu Del Barrio March 2, 2023 – Paramount+ today announced that one of the service’s longest-running original drama series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY will conclude with its upcoming fifth season in early 2024. The series first premiered in 2017 and heralded the return of scripted “Star Trek” television series. Leading up to the final season, Paramount+ will honor STAR TREK: DISCOVERY’s legacy and groundbreaking storytelling over its last four seasons with year-long celebrations and appearances at key events in markets around the world. “STAR TREK: DISCOVERY is a perennial favorite on the service, near and dear to the hearts of legions of ‘Star Trek’ fans as well as all of us here at Paramount+,” said Tanya Giles, chief programming officer at Paramount Streaming. “The series and its incredible cast and creatives ushered in a new era for ‘Star Trek’ when it debuted over six years ago, embracing the future of streaming with serialized storytelling, bringing to life deep and complex characters that honor Gene Roddenberry’s legacy of representing diversity and inclusion, and pushing the envelope with award-winning world-building. This final season will see our beloved crew take on a new adventure and we can’t wait to celebrate the series’ impact on the franchise leading up to its final season early next year.” Executive producers and co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise shared: “As lifelong fans of ‘Star Trek,’ it has been an immense honor and privilege to help bring STAR TREK: DISCOVERY to the world. The ‘Trek’ universe means so much to so many – including us – and we couldn’t be prouder of everything DISCOVERY has contributed to its legacy, particularly with representation. If just one person sees themselves, or the possibilities for their future, in a new way because of DISCOVERY, then we think we’d have made Gene Roddenberry very proud. “Of course, there would be no DISCOVERY without Sonequa Martin-Green and the extraordinary team of artists, both in front of and behind the camera, who have brought this show to life. Their passion and determination to make every episode special has been deeply inspiring; so too has their love and support for one another and their genuine love for ‘Star Trek.’ DISCOVERY has truly become a family over the years – and we couldn’t be more grateful to be part of it.” “To the fans around the world, thank you for joining us on this incredible journey. Your love for these characters and your excitement for every episode, every season, has meant the world to us. We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been working on for this final season; we appreciate your patience in the meantime and trust us when we say it’ll be worth the wait. We love you all! LLAP” “I can hardly believe that this mind-blowing journey with STAR TREK: DISCOVERY is ending,” said series star and producer Sonequa Martin-Green. “I’m astoundingly blessed by God to have played Captain Michael Burnham and to have taken part in a legacy alongside an extraordinary cast, phenomenal crew and remarkable writing team. To our most supportive partners at CBS Studios and Paramount+, who insisted on making television history, I’m deeply grateful. I’m also deeply grateful for the creative collaboration with our showrunners Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman, as well as Olatunde Osunsanmi and the incomparable team of executive producers. I will never forget how it felt to stand together as a show family, cradling the heirloom of ‘Trek’ with all those from the franchise at large and with the fans. The fans welcomed us into their hearts as we launched a new iteration of ‘Trek’ and an entire entertainment platform, and we’ll never forget it. 65 episodes later, here’s to the entire company of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, to the show and its fifth and final season, to its beloved fans and to all those who envision a better future. Let’s fly… ” “When we first started talking about the return of ‘Star Trek’ eight years ago, we never could have imagined the indelible impact STAR TREK: DISCOVERY would have,” said David Stapf, president of CBS Studios. “The series brought back a beloved global franchise, and just like its predecessors, DISCOVERY honored ‘Star Trek’s’ legacy of ‘infinite diversity in infinite combinations,’ representing the best of what we could be as humans when we celebrate our differences. I’d like to thank Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise, who have led this show with heart, passion, and as fans themselves with vivid storytelling – always ready to push boundaries like those before them. And finally, I’d like to thank this talented cast, led by the brilliant Sonequa Martin-Green, whose leadership both onscreen and off has helped guide the way from day one.” The fifth and final season will find Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well … dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it. STAR TREK: DISCOVERY season five cast members include Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Michelle Paradise, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers. Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serve as co-showrunners. STAR TREK: DISCOVERY seasons one through four are currently streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the U.K., Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons two and three are also available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. STAR TREK: DISCOVERY is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. About Paramount+ Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, combines live sports, breaking news and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream CBS News Network for 24/7 news and CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis. For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlus on social platforms. About “Star Trek” on Paramount+ Paramount+ is now the exclusive home to every series and every episode of the full catalog of “Star Trek.” This includes all seasons of the Paramount+ original series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, STAR TREK: PICARD, the animated series STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS and STAR TREK: PRODIGY, and the newest addition STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS. “Star Trek” on Paramount+ also includes a selection of “Star Trek” films, including the documentary WOMAN IN MOTION. For additional info on and photography from Paramount+’s STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, STAR TREK: PICARD, STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS, STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS and STAR TREK: PRODIGY, please click here. About CBS Studios CBS Studios is one of the world’s leading suppliers of entertainment programming, with more than 60 series currently in production for broadcast and cable networks, streaming services and other emerging platforms. The Studio’s expansive portfolio spans a diverse slate of commercially successful and critically acclaimed scripted programming, which includes genre-defining franchises such as “NCIS,” “CSI” and the ever-growing “Star Trek” universe, award-winning late night and daytime talk shows, as well as an extensive library of iconic intellectual property. The Studio also develops and produces local language and international content originating outside of the U.S. with series in the U.K., Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

What do you think? Have you enjoyed watching the Star Trek: Discovery TV series? Are you looking forward to the fifth and final season? Are you disappointed that there won’t be a season six? Check out our status sheets to track new TV series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here .

Jump for Joy finally

Any plans when Paramount+ will be avaible in Sweden, or can I see Star Trek Discovery in any other way?

I actually liked the first two seasons, but it tanked after that. Started turning into a chore to watch much like The Walking Dead became. Probably for the best they end it.

This show should have ended after season 2. I had hope it would get better but season 3 was just ridiculous and I stopped watching. And don’t get me started on the dumpster fire that was Picard. The writers and producers should be in prison for the crap they tried to serve as StarTrek.

Season 5 not arriving until’24.. what is unadulterated joke! The one glaring issue with the streaming service originals the huge gaps in production turn arounds. We’ll say goodbye to Picard and then we’ll be left with a huge vacuum until either Discovery or Strange new worlds are completed and then released. Piss poor production scheduling!

This aweful Nutrek series is finally cancelled.

BOOOOOOO, I’m am so tired of the networks canceling shows that actually have entertainment value. I’ve been waiting in anticipation for the return of Discovery and am highly irritated that the show is being canceled. I’m also peeved that Picard has been canceled. How long will they keep Strange Worlds before canceling it? Idiots at the helm on all the networks and streaming services.

You’re right about one thing. Idiots at the helm. All of the woke BS drove a lot of genuine ST fans away. It was more of a political show than a sci-fi. On top of that, the sci-fi that was shown was ridiculous. I quit watching after Season 2. Too bad. I love the ST shows but this one was a dud. And Picard being cancelled? The guy is really getting up there in years. Let him retire in peace please.

This is such a waste..the show didn’t even have a full 4 seasons those half season offerings are not a real season and now ending it so soon..i’m not going to even bother to watch the last season..or renew my subscription!

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• Starfleet enlisted personnel
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• USS Excelsior personnel

Janice Rand

Janice Rand was a female Human Starfleet officer in the 23rd century . She began her service career in the operations division in the mid- 2260s , serving aboard the USS Enterprise during its five-year mission under Captain James T. Kirk . ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ", " The Man Trap ", " Charlie X ", " Miri ", " Balance of Terror "; Star Trek: The Motion Picture ; VOY : " Flashback ")

• 1.1 The five-year mission
• 1.4 Communications officer of the USS Excelsior
• 2.1 Appearances
• 2.2.1 Serialized appearances
• 2.2.2 Exclusion
• 2.2.3 Later appearances
• 2.3 Rank ambiguities
• 2.4 Woman in cafeteria
• 2.5 Apocrypha
• 2.6 External links

Service career [ ]

The five-year mission [ ].

Rand was a non-commissioned officer serving aboard the USS Enterprise in 2266 , under the command of Captain James T. Kirk . She was assigned as the captain's personal yeoman by Starfleet Headquarters . ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ") Rand was first quartered in room 3C 46 on Deck 12 . ( TOS : " The Enemy Within ") She was later moved to room 3F 125. ( TOS : " Charlie X ")

Initially, the fact that Starfleet had assigned a female yeoman to his command annoyed Captain Kirk. Much to his surprise, Rand delivered dietary salad to him, incorrectly believing he was aware his diet card had recently been changed by Doctor Leonard McCoy . Furthermore, the way Rand attended to Kirk at first frustrated him but, moments later, he thanked her. To that, Rand politely replied he was welcome, then exited, which left Kirk and McCoy to comment about her during her absence. ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ")

In the final draft script of "The Corbomite Maneuver" (dated 3 May 1966 ), Rand served Kirk a bowl of soup , rather than dietary salad, but Kirk's surprised reaction to the food was also written into the script. By way of explanation, Rand stated she had ordered it for him. She was anguished and surprised when Kirk headed away to the bridge without finishing his soup, though McCoy advised her, " You keep after him. "

In the second revised final draft of the teleplay for "The Corbomite Maneuver" (dated 20 May 1966), the discussion about Rand that Kirk and McCoy speak following her departure was slightly longer; Kirk began to say to McCoy, " The first mistake this yeoman makes… " but a smiling McCoy interrupted, answering, " She won't. "

Soon thereafter, Rand heated a pot of coffee . Since the power was out in the Enterprise 's galley , she used a phaser to heat the pot. Rand then served the hot coffee to the bridge personnel. ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ")

Rand is shown serving the coffee on the bridge, but not heating it. In the version of the bridge scene from the final draft script of "The Corbomite Maneuver", she admitted to having heard, along with the rest of the Enterprise 's crew, interaction between Kirk and the Balok puppet . Rand also made it clear she had made the coffee in an attempt to "keep the faith", which Kirk thanked her for in addition to the coffee itself.

An artist as a hobby, Rand had several paintings she had created hanging in her quarters aboard the Enterprise . ( TOS : " The Enemy Within ")

At one point in 2266, Rand was sitting at the office area of Captain Kirk's quarters, holding a batch of crew manifest microtapes when Kirk arrived. She was unaware that, due to a transporter malfunction, the captain had been split into two distinctly different versions of Kirk, one of whom was weak and indecisive whereas the other was bestial and lustful. Without knowing the newcomer was actually the former manifestation of Kirk, Rand gave him the manifest records and, interrupted by him, was summarily dismissed.

This scene wasn't included in any drafts of the story outline nor the script for "The Enemy Within" apart from the revised final draft of the episode's teleplay.

Rand encountering the aggressive and bestial side of Captain Kirk , created from a transporter accident. ( 2266 )

Soon thereafter, Rand was sought out by the aggressive and bestial version of Captain Kirk, who hungered for her while drunk on Saurian brandy . So, the inebriated duplicate Kirk entered her quarters and laid in wait for her to return. Later, she returned to her quarters and was attending to her hair in a mirror, all the while believing she was alone, when she was suddenly startled to see the person she believed to be the whole Captain Kirk emerging from the shadows in her bedroom holding a bottle of Saurian brandy. Rand was surprised to the point of speechlessness – meanwhile under the impression her visitor was Kirk himself – when the duplicate Kirk began speaking to her intimately. He amorously mentioned to her the feelings they'd been hiding, claiming she was " too beautiful to ignore, " " too much woman, " and that they had both been " pretending too long. " Rand screams, however, when he suddenly grabs her and begins to violently kiss her. While she is fighting back, he pushes and pins her to the floor and attempts to rape her; but Rand fights back in self-defense, leaving a large scratch on the duplicate Kirk's face, a distinguishing feature which ultimately helps the crew differentiate between the two Kirk "halves." The situation was resolved, and the two halves of Kirk were merged in the transporter. ( TOS : " The Enemy Within ")

Rand's efficient work ethic was observed by the real Kirk, while he grew to respect her as a crewmember and friend. Despite their professional relationship, an undercurrent of sexual attraction remained between the two. Rand's feelings for Kirk couldn't be requited by him, however, due to his position as ship's captain. Nonetheless, in certain crises, Rand and Kirk were instinctively drawn together and reached out for each other. ( TOS : " The Naked Time ", " Balance of Terror ", " Miri ")

According to script sources, Rand already felt drawn to Kirk by the time of "The Enemy Within". The final draft teleplay of that installment remarked about Rand, " She is obviously attracted to the Captain. " The revised final draft of the episode's script instead stated about her relationship with Kirk, " She's conditioned herself to maintain aplomb in his presence […] She has hidden her attraction to the Captain for too long to change her attitude, play female, […] suddenly. "

Rand with Sulu in 2266, finding Barnhart 's body aboard the Enterprise

During her service aboard the Enterprise , Rand developed a close relationship with several officers and crewmembers, including Lieutenants Uhura and Sulu. Rand frequently struck up conversations with, and delivered meals to, Enterprise officers other than Captain Kirk, and she accompanied them throughout the ship. She enjoyed a more informal relationship with them as compared to the professional relationship she maintained with the captain, which implied she was doing it out of friendship rather than an assigned duty as a yeoman. ( TOS : " The Man Trap ")

In an ultimately omitted scene from the final draft script of "The Man Trap", Rand had a chance encounter with Kirk in a corridor, while she was carrying a tray she intended to give to Sulu because, as she explained to Kirk, he had "missed mess call ." She asked Kirk if he needed her but he declined, so she continued on her way to see Sulu.

After a waterborne virus spread through the Enterprise , affecting the emotions of the crew, Kirk suddenly shouted to Spock, " I have a beautiful yeoman! " Later, in the center seat on the bridge, befuddled by the virus, he reached a hand out to his "beautiful yeoman" standing next to him looking away at the screen and whispered under his breath, " No beach to walk on, " meaning he and Rand, in other circumstances, might have had a life together. ( TOS : " The Naked Time ")

In the final draft script of "The Naked Time", Rand at one point left a briefing to bring Kirk and his fellow senior officers some coffee, on Kirk's request. Because that dialogue was ultimately excised, Rand, in the final version of the scene, seems to suddenly disappear from the briefing, her abrupt absence left unexplained.

Rand off duty, with her hair down (2266)

Later that year, orphaned teenager Charles Evans came aboard the Enterprise . Rand's maternal instincts were drawn out by the troubled boy, and she quickly befriended Evans, hoping to help him ease back into regular life. Evans, the sole survivor of a transport crash , had little experience with other Humans and quickly became infatuated with Rand. She, unsure how to deal with Evans' crush, asked Captain Kirk to speak to the boy on her behalf. Soon thereafter, the Enterprise crew discovered Evans' secret – while Evans was alone on Thasus , the mysterious Thasian race had taken pity on the boy and granted Evans special powers. Rand turned down Evans' advances, so he literally made her disappear from the Enterprise . The Thasians intervened and quickly returned Evans to Thasus. After her return to the Enterprise , Rand was shocked and troubled by the Thasians' actions. Having seen how desperately Evans wanted to stay aboard the ship, Rand confided to Kirk her feelings of friendship for the boy . ( TOS : " Charlie X ")

Rand, in the arms of the Captain during a Romulan attack ( 2266 )

Yeoman Rand was among the most popular female members of the Enterprise 's crew, second only to Lieutenant Uhura , who was her good friend. ( TOS : " Charlie X ") She was known for her compassion and thoughtfulness toward others. Rand was regarded highly by Kirk for her hard work and diligence. In 2266, the Enterprise played cat and mouse with a Romulan ship in the Neutral Zone . When Kirk was in his quarters resting during a lull in the battle, Rand entered without knocking to check up on him and found him lying in bed. Alone with the captain, she was hoping to console him, as he was preoccupied by the potential for a second Romulan war , so she offered to bring him food or coffee to help him. Rand was on the bridge, with Kirk, when the Romulans fired a plasma torpedo at the Enterprise . As the torpedo got closer to the ship, Rand immediately walked up close behind the Captain for protection, and rested her chin on his shoulder. For a very brief moment, Kirk protested, but as the torpedo was just seconds from hitting the ship, Kirk turned and let Rand fall into his arms for protection. ( TOS : " Balance of Terror ") ,

Rand suffering from life prolongation project (2266)

Rand encounters Lenore Karidian on the bridge (2266)

During one mission, Rand, Kirk, and other members of a landing party were trapped on Miri ; adults on the planet had quickly developed a virus which had been accidentally as a result of a life prolongation project conducted there. Eventually, Rand began showing signs of the disease. She admitted that for a long time she tried to get Kirk to admire her legginess, but this time she needed Kirk to see her legs in a professional manner as Bones was unavailable. Kirk did look at her legs, and was shocked to see lesions and sores present. Alone in a corridor with the captain, crying and upset, she found comfort in his arms. Miri , a teenage girl whom the team had befriended, witnessed this, became jealous of Rand, and later briefly betrayed them by having her abducted by the other children. Kirk, under stress from the disease, became preoccupied with Rand's whereabouts and was desperate to find her, affectionately using her first name whenever he referred to her. ( TOS : " Miri ")

Several reasons have been stated for Rand's abrupt departure during the first season , including the character's relationship with Kirk, where " the network insisted that the good captain should have many girl friends and romances, all to be provided by a succession of female guest stars, so Yeoman Rand faded from sight. (Roddenberry stated many times in the intervening years that he had been mistaken in yielding to network pressure, and should have retained [her] on the series.) " ( The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

David Gerrold included Rand in his outline for his story premise titled "The Fuzzies," which was an early draft of " The Trouble with Tribbles ". Upon reading the premise, Gene L. Coon crossed out Rand's name and wrote "No" next to it on the outline because Grace Lee Whitney, as Rand, would not be back for the second season . When Gerrold asked him why, Coon responded, " She transferred to another ship. " ( The Trouble with Tribbles )

In The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , published several years before her death, Grace Lee Whitney admitted to her ghost-writer that she had endured sexual assaults, and that these had awakened her latent chemical dependencies and behavioral compulsions, which she had needed years to force into remission. They had also led to her dismissal from the cast of TOS.

Transporter chief in 2270s

By the mid- 2270s , Rand had been promoted to chief petty officer and transporter chief of the Enterprise . Before Rear Admiral Kirk assumed command of the Enterprise , she also served under the command of Captain Will Decker while the ship underwent a major refit in spacedock . ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

At Starfleet Headquarters in 2286

In 2286 , Rand was a communications officer assigned to Starfleet Command on Earth . When the Whale Probe began vaporizing the Earth 's oceans , she was on duty and reported that Juneau , Alaska had ninety-five percent cloud cover . Later, Rand attended the trial of Kirk and his senior officers at the Federation Council Chambers. ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

When Whitney learned that Director Leonard Nimoy had hoped to use Whitney again in the yet unwritten Star Trek IV , and as, at the time, an individual recovering from chemical-dependence, she mused two fan ideas she was keen on having Rand pursue as a character. " I would like to think that Rand has moved into counseling . I would like to get her into a more intimate relationship with everyone aboard, in a position where everyone could come and share their problems with her. […] Since I'm on a spiritual path in my own life, that might be interesting. It certainly would be a switch – from space geisha to chaplain. " ( Starlog #105, April 1986 , p. 49)

Communications officer of the USS Excelsior [ ]

By 2293 , Rand was promoted to the rank of Commander and was the communications officer on the USS Excelsior , under the command of Captain Hikaru Sulu . Sometime before this year, she had completed her officer training, and was promoted in three years to commander . ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; VOY : " Flashback ")

In the first draft script of "Flashback", Rand stated it had taken her seven months to be promoted to ensign, though that duration was changed to "three years" by the time the installment's final draft script was issued.

That year, Captain Sulu violated his orders in order to attempt the rescue of Captain Kirk and Dr. Leonard McCoy from the Klingon prison colony Rura Penthe . Rand understood his motivations and agreed with his decision. She even chided Ensign Tuvok for questioning the captain's decision. ( VOY : " Flashback ")

In a character description of Rand from the script of "Flashback" (in both the first draft and the final draft of the teleplay), a sentence about her relationship with Tuvok commented, " She likes Tuvok, has taken an interest in his career. "

As evidenced by the first draft script of "Flashback", Rand was originally to have reported a coded message from the Enterprise was being picked up and would have also displayed it on Excelsior 's viewscreen. However, these actions, and the transmission itself, were excised from the episode by the time the final draft of the script was written.

The Excelsior later played a key role in the Khitomer Conference that same year, by assisting the USS Enterprise -A in its battle with General Chang 's prototype Klingon Bird-of-Prey , thereby preventing the assassination of the Federation President and Klingon Chancellor Azetbur . ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Please see " Rank ambiguities " and " Woman in Cafeteria " for more information.

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " The Corbomite Maneuver "
• " The Enemy Within "
• " The Man Trap "
• " The Naked Time "
• " Charlie X "
• " Balance of Terror "
• " The Conscience of the King "
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• VOY : " Flashback "

Background information [ ]

Serialized appearances [ ].

Janice Rand was played by Grace Lee Whitney . She once joked that, even aged four months old, she "was already working on my Yeoman Rand beehive!" ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 18) Janice Rand was the third find for the role of the captain's yeoman, following Laurel Goodwin as Yeoman J.M. Colt and Andrea Dromm as Yeoman Smith . Whitney was handpicked by Gene Roddenberry to portray the role. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , p. 156) Her casting as Rand was precisely because a part she had played in Roddenberry's unsold pilot, Police Story , had been hugely popular with a test audience. ( The Best of Trek , p. 177) Whitney's part in "Police Story", flirtatious Sergeant Lily Monroe, not only served as her screen test for Star Trek but was actually transferred by Roddenberry into the latter series, whereupon it became the Janice Rand character. ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , pp. 70-71) Herb Solow commented, " Unlike the two prior 'model-type and cute' Yeoman actresses, she [Whitney] appeared to him as what she was – pretty, sexy and vulnerable. Yeoman Janice Rand was piped aboard the USS Enterprise." ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , p. 156) Offered Whitney herself, " By the time he had cast me in that role for the regular series, he had given a lot of thought as to how Yeoman Rand would fit into the chemistry of the Star Trek ensemble. " ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , pp. 73-74)

In the first draft script of " Mudd's Women " (written by Stephen Kandel in May 1965 ), Rand was to appear with Spock on a screen in Captain Kirk 's quarters (referred to in a memo from Robert H. Justman to Gene Roddenberry, dated 20 April 1966 ).

In April 1966, a phone call from Grace Lee Whitney's agent which she waited at home to receive, in hope her agent would announce to her that Police Story had been sold, actually informed the actress that, though Police Story had been unsuccessful, Gene Roddenberry wanted her to play a part in Star Trek . After she arrived at Roddenberry's office at Desilu , she learned more about the character she was to personify. " He explained the part of Yeoman Janice Rand, and how she would fit into the overall chemistry of the show as the captain's yeoman and the object of his repressed desire, " remembered Whitney. " It was a sexy part, with lots of possibilities. I instantly loved it. I signed the contracts without a moment's hesitation. I couldn't wait to get started […] Finally, I had what I wanted: a continuing role on a weekly series. " As such, Whitney considered herself "one of the first actors signed to do Star Trek ." ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , pp. 72 & 10)

The character of Janice Rand was originally thought to be elemental to the series. " The way Gene outlined the role, Janice Rand was an important character to the show, " recalled Grace Lee Whitney. " Sort of a sci-fi Miss Kitty to Captain Kirk – a confidant and trusted adviser. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 119 , p. 55) Whitney elaborated, " I had signed [to appear on Star Trek ] as a lead, not a featured player. " ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 10) In fact, during the pre-production phase of the first season , Whitney as Rand was advertised as the show's third star, along with William Shatner as Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock. She was featured in many promotional photographs made at the time, posing with the other two. Also, Whitney's credit for playing Rand was, in the end credits, on the same card as Doctor McCoy actor DeForest Kelley . ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 10)

In a revised draft of the teleplay for " Mudd's Women " (written by John D.F. Black and dated 17 May 1966 ), Rand appeared in a scene at the start of the episode's second act, standing beside "her station," in the words of Robert Justman. Later in the script, she asked Dr. McCoy , " Shall I order you a half dozen for Christmas , Doctor? " In a memo of notes that Justman wrote about that version of the script and sent to John D.F. Black (on 18 May 1966), Justman suggested about Rand's scene at the beginning of the second act, " Since she has nothing to do in this short scene, perhaps it would be better not to see her here. " In the same memo, he additionally expressed confusion at precisely what Rand was offering to order McCoy for Christmas and asked, " Is she referring to Mudd's Women? "

As scripted for " The Corbomite Maneuver ", Janice Rand was to initially appear in a scene set in Captain Kirk's quarters, where she firstly prepared Kirk's uniform then, after he arrived, was dismissed by him. In the final version of the installment, however, Rand doesn't appear until later in the episode, when she serves him dietary salad. Her way of doing things, in the episode's second revised final draft script (dated 20 May 1966), was repeatedly referred to as "professional".

When a revised draft of the "Mudd's Women" script was submitted by John D.F. Black (on 23 May 1966), Rand was still included in that story. However, she wasn't in the final draft of the teleplay (issued on 26 May 1966), apart from in the cast list at the start of the document. Rand was also mentioned in a memo from Gene Roddenberry to Robert Justman (dated 31 May 1966). The memo declared to Justman that Rand's name would be excised in a corrected version of the cast sheet.

Because the Women's Liberation movement had not yet gained widespread publicity when the first season of TOS was produced, there was no influence from that political movement on the creation of the Rand character. " But it did upset me, " expressed Grace Lee Whitney, " that she had to shake, cry, and fear so much. I suppose the only part of me that was in the character of Rand was the innocent little girl part of me. " ( The Best of Trek , p. 177) On the other hand, Whitney was delighted to play Janice Rand in the series. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 119 , p. 56) " In Yeoman Janice Rand, I had a character of my own to explore and develop, week after week […] I had no idea how soon it would all be ripped away from me, " the actress stated. ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 1)

During Grace Lee Whitney's first few weeks of filming Janice Rand's scenes in Star Trek , Leonard Nimoy was Whitney's acting coach, helping her portray Rand more believably. ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 6)

In a developmental memo Robert Justman wrote Gene Roddenberry about the second draft script of " The Man Trap " (the memo was dated 2 June 1966 , while the episode had the working title "Damsel with a Dulcimer"), Justman commented, " I do wish there was some way to combine the parts of Yeoman Janice and Uhura in this story and possibly give the part of Janice. "

Although Grace Lee Whitney not only acted but also sang, she was concentrating more on her acting career than her singing when she appeared as Janice Rand in TOS. In retrospect, Whitney cited this as a reason why the character never sang on the show. She also attributed the exclusion of her singing to her role lacking development time. ( The Best of Trek , p. 179)

In Adrian Spies ' original script for " Miri ", Rand was revealed to be twenty-four years old at the time, suggesting a birth year of 2242 . [1]

Portraying Janice Rand tied up by children in "Miri" was difficult for Grace Lee Whitney. " I was so much into the role, I found it hard to separate fantasy and reality, " she remembered. " It was a genuinely scary experience, being tied up, trapped and victimized. " ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 3)

Following a day's filming midway through production on "Miri" (on 26 August 1966 ), Grace Lee Whitney became intrigued when an executive on the Desilu lot told her, " I think Yeoman Janice Rand has been under-utilized. The character has been developing some interesting possibilities in the past few episodes. I have some ideas – Why don't we find a place to sit down and talk about it? " After finding a private room on the lot, the man persuaded Whitney to adopt the persona of Rand in some sexually oriented role-playing, the man assuming the role of Captain Kirk. Decades later, Whitney recollected, " 'You know,' he said after we'd been talking a while, 'the thing that is so fascinating about Janice Rand is her repressed desire – her hunger for sex.' 'Not sex,' I said. 'Love. She loves the Captain.' 'Same thing,' said The Executive. 'She wants the Captain so badly, but she represses it. She doesn't admit it – not even to herself. We all know what she really wants – but she herself doesn't know. She denies it. Janice Rand can't face her own desires, her own sexuality.' 'Absolutely,' I agreed. 'That's the key to the character.' " The man then insisted the sexual repression in Rand was also in Whitney and, later that night, committed a terrifying sexual assault on the actress. ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , pp. 1-6)

On the morning of Monday 29 August 1966, Grace Lee Whitney – with two more days of shooting "Miri" scheduled – was again made-up in preparation for playing Janice Rand, in the make-up room of Desilu Stage 9 . " I sat down in the chair next to Leonard [Nimoy], so that hairdresser Virginia Darcy could attach Yeoman Janice Rand's trademark beehive wig to my head, " said Whitney. " As Virginia worked on my hair, [Makeup Supervisor] Fred Phillips looked over at me and seemed to groan a silent 'Oh, no!' He saw he had quite a reconstruction job to do on me as soon as he was through with Leonard. My face was swollen and distorted from a weekend of too much crying and too much drinking. I know I looked sick, not only from anxiety but from being hungover. " Darcy finished working on Whitney's hair before Phillips started on the performer's face. ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , pp. 7-8)

Exclusion [ ]

The first draft script for TOS : " Court Martial " (which had the working title "Court Martial at Star Base 811") suggested that Janice Rand's place on the bridge of the Enterprise was at the science station . In a memo Gene Roddenberry sent Gene L. Coon about that teleplay (dispatched on 15 August 1966 ), Roddenberry pointed out that Rand had been incorrectly placed at the station which was rightfully meant to be manned by Spock instead. Roddenberry also remarked about Rand, " We should keep her playing her role as Captain's secretary-aide-valet. If we want to keep her alive in the story we can arbitrarily say that the filing of Kirk's log, notes, memos, and so on, are her responsibility. " Ultimately, however, Rand was evidently omitted from the entire installment.

The character also went through a similar process of exclusion during the writing of TOS : " The Galileo Seven ". An early draft of that episode's script featured her among a group of characters who crash landed in the shuttlecraft Galileo . In a memo to Gene Roddenberry regarding that script draft (dated 23 August 1966), Robert H. Justman asked Roddenberry, " Are you happy with the Janice-Kirk routine on page 8? " Evidently, Rand was again later written out of the episode altogether.

After wrapping production on "Miri" (on Tuesday 30 August 1966), Grace Lee Whitney received a call from her agent, Alex Brewis, about her character of Janice Rand, while the actress was at home just a couple days into a two-week hiatus before shooting was to begin on the next episode, " The Conscience of the King ". Brewis first ensured Whitney was sitting before telling her the news that the decision had been made to remove Rand from Star Trek , with Whitney about to be written out of the show and with no intent to replace her. ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 9) In reply to Whitney asking why this choice had been made, Brewis relayed to her that he had been told Rand's romantic relationship with Captain Kirk was becoming too obvious and that – because the network NBC insisted on depicting Kirk having a more varied romantic life with numerous women played by a succession of guest-starring actresses – it would seem Rand was being cheated on by him, if her relationship with him was too intense. ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 9; The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , p. 120; The Best of Trek , p. 178) It was obvious to Whitney that this reasoning was the opposite of what the executive who had violated her had said the previous Friday night: that Rand's relationship with Kirk could be strengthened and that many story possibilities would result from expanding the participation of the Rand character on the show. Brewis told Whitney, " You have a contract for thirteen episodes. You'll have one more episode to shoot. You can finish out your contract, and then you'll be through. " ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 9)

Grace Lee Whitney was utterly distraught by her character being written out of the show. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 119 , p. 56) " I had lost my favorite role among all the roles I had performed, " she reflected. The first person she informed about Rand's departure from the show was James Doohan , who was similarly shocked. ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , pp. 13 & 10) Robert Justman protested Rand leaving the series, wanting the character to at least be brought back on a guest-starring basis in future episodes, though this did not come to pass. ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 67) Whitney at first felt bitter resentment toward Gene Roddenberry and the studio as well as feeling even suicidal, upon first learning of Rand's exclusion, but by 1976 , those feelings had subsided. ( The Best of Trek , p. 178) In a 1998 interview, Whitney stated, " I am still often hurt when Yeoman Rand is left out of things […] I thought I had lost a part of myself – that it was me, Grace, that had been written off, not the character. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 119 , p. 56)

Grace Lee Whitney formed her own unsubstantiated theory to account for Janice Rand's expulsion from Star Trek , suspecting it was related to the incident between her and an executive. " Because those events happened just a few days apart – the Friday night sexual assault and the call informing me that I had been written out of the show – there has always been a clear cause-and-effect linkage in my mind, " she related. " I have always believed that The Executive had me removed from Star Trek because he didn't want to be reminded of what he did to me that night […] Because I never received any official explanation, there was always that faint glimmer of doubt in my mind – the nagging suspicion that maybe I was jettisoned from Star Trek for some other, unknown reason […] A number of conflicting theories have been advanced in various Trek -oriented books and magazines to explain why I was let go from the series, yet no single, definitive, once-and-for-all answer was ever put forward. No internal memo ever surfaced that said, 'The producers of Star Trek have decided to toss Yeoman Janice Rand out the nearest airlock because…' " ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 15) Gene Roddenberry later repeatedly expressed regrets that, instead of keeping Rand in the series, he had given in to the pressure from the network. ( The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , p. 120)

The excising of the Janice Rand character happened during the making of TOS : " Dagger of the Mind ". As a result, Rand's part in that outing was instead rewritten for the character of Helen Noel , whom Marianna Hill acted out in the installment. ( The Best of Trek , p. 178; The Star Trek Compendium , 4th ed., p. 41) According to Whitney, " The hardest thing was to watch somebody else say my lines. " ( Starlog #105, April 1986 , p. 49)

Grace Lee Whitney found that one of the most challenging aspects of her departure from Star Trek was having to return to the studio for her final appearance in "The Conscience of the King", in which Rand is present for about six seconds in only one scene and without any dialogue. At some point during the week of Monday 12 September 1966 , Whitney arrived for her last early morning call and was offended to see that her name on the parking lot she used there had already been painted over. " I walked into Stage 9 and reported to makeup, where Fred Phillips applied my hair and makeup one last time, " she said. " Then I went out to the set of the Enterprise bridge and waited to be called. " ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , p. 11)

Though Rand's on-screen appearance in "The Conscience of the King" is minimal, that wasn't always the case. In the episode's final revised draft script, she made a brief appearance in an additional scene, set on the Enterprise 's observation deck , where she interrupted a tour Kirk was giving Lenore Karidian . The script's stage directions indicated that Rand had been searching for the captain, as she had a duty roster to give him. She also had one line of dialogue in the scene, in which she stated to Kirk, " Excuse me, sir… you said you wanted this roster as soon as it was completed. " After handing the roster to Kirk, she exited "without batting an eye." Subsequently, Lenore Karidian commented that Rand was "quite lovely," to which Kirk added, " And very efficient. " Shortly thereafter in the teleplay, Lenore admitted that she believed Rand didn't like her, due to being attracted to Kirk, but he protested that Rand's relationship with Kirk was "strictly business," though Lenore was sure that wasn't the case and that Kirk was simply naive about women. Some of these references to Rand were also included in a deleted scene from "The Conscience of the King", beginning with Lenore's line about having felt that Rand didn't like her, and proceeding from there on. ("Swept Up: Snippets from the Cutting Room Floor", Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault special features)

Rand was also featured in the writer's first draft script of " The Squire of Gothos ", though her part in the script was rewritten to become Teresa Ross by the time the episode's first draft teleplay was issued.

Grace Lee Whitney's TOS performances of Janice Rand had no great lasting effect on the actress' career in show business. " It was just another role, " she said. " But it had a profound effect on my ego, first up, then being shattered. " ( The Best of Trek , p. 179)

Later appearances [ ]

When the decision to make Star Trek: The Motion Picture came about, it was also decided to include Janice Rand in the movie, again portrayed by Grace Lee Whitney. Unlike the other returning cast members from TOS, Whitney was not given a character description – from the Writers'/Directors' Guide for the ultimately aborted television series Star Trek: Phase II – to help with her performance in The Motion Picture , as she had not been intended to reappear in Phase II . The actress nevertheless found that reassuming the role for the film was not too problematic. Susan Sackett wrote, " Grace Lee was left on her own in developing this character. But this was not too difficult, for the talented actress and singer had always remained close to Star Trek , delighting fans at conventions with original songs about Yeoman Janice Rand's adventures aboard the Enterprise . She and Janice are old friends. " ( The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , p. 120)

Janice Rand's appearance in The Motion Picture is in keeping with the fact that long hairstyles were disallowed in that film. ( The Making of Star Trek , p. 142)

In the script of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , Rand was referred to merely as the "Communications Officer" of the Excelsior and she – instead of an unnamed officer played by Christian Slater – was written, at one point, as awakening Sulu to inform him that Starfleet was looking for the Enterprise . Despite the fact this scene was rewritten to replace Rand, Grace Lee Whitney considered her role in Star Trek VI to be "better" than it had been in Star Trek IV . Whitney said of how she prepared for Star Trek VI , " I had been hired for the part a few months before the movie had been shot. As it got closer to the filming date, I still had no script. I called casting and asked for a script, wondering if it was because I had [a] no speaking part. Well, this went back and forth until the morning I went to work on Star Trek VI and I still did not have a script. They sent me a few pages of the scene they were doing on that day which I read. We then shot about half the day and [director] Nick Meyer said to me, 'Can you cry real tears on camera?' As I was talking to him, I was mentally recalling a recent event where my daughter-in-law was pregnant and got very sick and was in the hospital taking intravenous feedings in her arms because she could not retain food or fluids by mouth. I began to cry just looking at him. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 22, No. 3, p. 20)

Rand later appeared in the episode " Flashback ". In the script of that installment (both the first draft and the final draft of the teleplay), a scene description remarked, " Rand is a communications officer who has served for many years, and is nearing the end of her career. She has an easy-going, friendly manner. " At one stage during production on "Flashback", Brannon Braga informed Grace Lee Whitney that the Rand character might later return, remarking, " We're not killing you off, Grace, so we can bring you back! " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 108 ) However, this possibility never came to fruition.

Rank ambiguities [ ]

Interviews with Grace Lee Whitney have suggested that Janice Rand held the rank of chief petty officer in The Motion Picture . ( citation needed • edit ) In the film, her character had the chief petty officer rank insignia. This was probably also how Associate Producer Jon Povill thought of Rand. Shortly after mistaking her for an ensign , Povill sent a memo to Costume Designer Robert Fletcher that recognized the error, stating, " Rand is not an ensign. She is a transporter chief. This means there should be no sleeve on her costume. Sorry about that, Chief. " ( The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , pp. 126-127) The designation "Chief" was often assigned to Chief Petty Officers.

According to the script for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , Rand was either a master chief petty officer or a lieutenant . [2] She was identified in the credits as "Commander Rand".

A costume worn by Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand in Star Trek VI was auctioned off in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction and included two ten-year service pins and a five-year service pin, corresponding to the fact that she had served in Starfleet for around thirty years. [3]

Woman in cafeteria [ ]

"Woman in cafeteria" from Star Trek III

Grace Lee Whitney played a command division officer in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . This character was a commander. The credits for the film identified the character as “Woman in Cafeteria”. The script for the film had no mention of Rand.

Since there was no part for Whitney in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan or the script for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Director Leonard Nimoy corrected the oversight by giving her a cameo near the beginning of the film. She explained " Leonard was way up on the boom directing me as I was looking. And of course, there was no Enterprise there. It was simply a blank wall. I had to do all this imagining in my head. So Leonard talked me through it. He said, 'OK. You're seeing the ship. It's coming in. There it is. It's the Enterprise .' And I would look a certain way. And he would say, 'But it's hurt.' And then I would look at it sadly. Then, he would say, 'Look at it now and see the things that are wrong with it. And Captain Kirk is in trouble. And Mr. Spock is dead.' He was talking me through all of these things as I was watching it. He was putting into my mind what he wanted me to show in my eyes and my face. " ( Starlog #105, April 1986 , p. 49)

Apocrypha [ ]

Janice Rand in the alternate reality

Her male counterpart

Some of the comics set around the time of Sulu taking command of Excelsior not only supported Janice Rand's rank as a lieutenant commander, but also implied she was the Excelsior 's first officer.

In the comic book " Blaise of Glory ", Rand's name is displayed on a computer screen as "Rand, Janice L".

Star Trek II: Biographies gives her name as Janice Rand Dale, presumably after she got married.

According to the novel Enterprise: The First Adventure , she had two brothers named Benjamin and Sirri. The novel The Captain's Daughter reveals that Rand had a daughter named Annie who died from an illness at the age of two.

According to the video game Star Trek: Starship Creator , Rand has an ex-husband named Jenneth Royce and a sister named Paula.

In the 1997 Marvel Voyager comic book " Ghosts ", two prominent characters, Josh Rand ( β ) and Athena Rand ( β ), were said to be relatives of Janice. They were noted for coming from a long line of Starfleet officers.

In IDW Publishing 's alternate reality adaptation of " The Galileo Seven ", in the third and fourth issues of the Star Trek: Ongoing comic series , Yeoman Rand was one of several landing party members who became stranded and survived the experience on Murasaki 312 , taking the place occupied by Mears in the TOS episode.

In " Parallel Lives, Part 1 ", her male alternate reality counterpart is seen.

The Janice Rand from the prime universe appears in one panel in " Connection, Part 2 ", the sixtieth and final issue of Star Trek: Ongoing .

External links [ ]

• Janice Rand at Wikipedia
• Janice Rand at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Janice Rand at the Star Trek Online Wiki
• 2 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 Sito Jaxa

The longest-running movie franchises of all time

Movie franchises are the jewel in the studio crown, but the constant search for the next Fast and Furious isn't anything new.

Here are the longest-running movie franchises in history (reboots and Star Trek sideboots included), none of them less than a quarter of a century old.

28. Die Hard

1988-2013 (25 years) 1. Die Hard (1988) 2. Die Hard 2 (1990) 3. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) 4. Live Free or Die Hard (2007) (aka Die Hard 4.0) 5. A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)

27. A Nightmare on Elm Street

1984-2010 (26 years) 1. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 2. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) 3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) 4. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) 5. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) 6. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) 7. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) 8. Freddy vs Jason (2003) 9. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

=25. Indiana Jones

1981-2008 (27 years) 1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) 3. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) 4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

=25. Bulldog Drummond

1922-1969 (27 years) 1. Bulldog Drummond (1923) 2. Bulldog Drummond's Third Round (1925) 3. Captain Swagger (1928) 4. Bulldog Drummond (1929) 5. Temple Tower (1930) 6. The Return of Bulldog Drummond (1934) 7. Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934) 8. Bulldog Jack (1935) 9. Bulldog Drummond's Revenge (1937) 10. Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1937) 11. Bulldog Drummond Comes Back (1937) 12. Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937) 13. Bulldog Drummond in Africa (1937) 14. Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1937) 15. Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police (1937) 16. Arrest Bulldog Drummond (1937) 17. Bulldog Drummond's Bride (1937) 18. Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1947) 19. Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1947) 20. The Challenge (1948) 21. 13 Lead Soldiers (1948) 22. Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951) 23. Bulldog Drummond (1952) 24. Deadlier Than the Male (1967) 25.Some Girls Do (1967)

=23. The Land Before Time

1988-2016 (28 years) 1. The Land Before Time (1988) 2. The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994) 3. The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (1995) 4. The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists (1996) 5. The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island (1997) 6. The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock (1998) 7. The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire (2000) 8. The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze (2001) 9. The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water (2002) 10. The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003) 11. The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses (2005) 12. The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers (2006) 13. The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends (2007) 14. The Land Before Time: Journey of the Brave (2016)

=23. Puppet Master

1989-2017 (28 years) 1. Puppet Master (1989) 2. Puppet Master II: His Unholy Creation (1991) 3. Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge (1991) 4. Puppet Master 4: The Demon (1993) 5. Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter (1994) 6. Curse of the Puppet Master (1998) 7. Retro Puppet Master (1999) 8. Puppet Master: The Legacy (2003) 9. Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys (2004) 10. Puppet Master: Axis of Evil (2010) 11. Puppet Master X: Axis Rising (2012) 12. Puppet Master: Axis Termination (2017)

=21. Friday the 13th

1980-2009 (29 years) 1. Friday the 13th (1980) 2. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) 3. Friday the 13th Part III (1982) 4. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) 5. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) 6. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) 7. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) 8. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) 9. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) 10. Jason X (2001) 11. Freddy vs Jason (2003) 12. Friday the 13th (2009)

=21. Child's Play

1988-2017 (29 years) 1. Child's Play (1988) 2. Child's Play 2 (1990) 3. Child's Play 3 (1991) 4. Bride of Chucky (1998) 5. Seed of Chucky (2004) 6. Curse of Chucky (2013) 7. Cult of Chucky (2017)

20. Hellraiser

1987-2017 (30 years) 1. Hellraiser (1987) 2. Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) 3. Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992) 4. Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) 5. Hellraiser: Inferno (2000) 6. Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002) 7. Hellraiser: Deader (2005) 8. Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005) 9. Hellraiser: Revelations (2011) 10. Hellraiser: Judgment (2017)

=18. Terminator

1984-2015 (31 years) 1. The Terminator (1984) 2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 3. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) 4. Terminator Salvation (2009) 5. Terminator Genisys (2015)

=18. Halloween

1978-2009 (31 years) 1. Halloween (1978) 2. Halloween II (1981) 3. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) 4. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) 5. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) 6. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) 7. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) 8. Halloween: Resurrection (2002) 9. Halloween (2007) 10. Halloween II (2009)

=16. The Lone Wolf

1917-1949 (32 years) 1. The Lone Wolf (film) (1917) 2. The False Faces (1919) 3. The Lone Wolf's Daughter (1919) 4. The Lone Wolf (1924) 5. The Lone Wolf Returns (1926) 6. Alias the Lone Wolf (1927) 7. The Lone Wolf's Daughter (1929) 8. Last of the Lone Wolf (1930) 9. Cheaters at Play (1932) 10. The Lone Wolf Returns (1935) 11. The Lone Wolf in Paris (1938) 12. The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939) 13. The Lone Wolf Strikes (1940) 14. The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady (1940) 15. The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date (1941) 16. The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance (1941) 17. Secrets of the Lone Wolf (1941) 18. Counter-Espionage (1942) 19. One Dangerous Night (1943) 20. Passport to Suez (1943) 21. The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946) 22. The Lone Wolf in Mexico (1947) 23. The Lone Wolf in London (1947) 24. The Lone Wolf and His Lady (1949)

=16. The Exorcist

1973-2005 (32 years) 1. The Exorcist (1973) 2. Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) 3. The Exorcist III (1990) 4. Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) 5. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)

15. Children of the Corn

1984-2017 (33 years) 1. Children of the Corn (1984) 2. Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992) 3. Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995) 4. Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996) 5. Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) 6. Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return (1999) 7. Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001) 8. Children of the Corn (2009) 9. Children of the Corn: Genesis (2011) 10. Children of the Corn: Runaway (2017)

=13. Winnie the Pooh

1977-2011 (34 years) 1. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) 2. Winnie the Pooh and Friends (1985) 3. Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin (1997) 4. Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving (1999) 5. The Tigger Movie (2000) 6. The Book of Pooh: Stories from the Heart (2001) 7. Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year (2002) 8. Piglet's Big Movie (2003) 9. Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo (2004) 10. Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005) 11. Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005) 12. My Friends Tigger and Pooh: Super Sleuth Christmas Movie (2007) 13. My Friends Tigger and Pooh: Tigger & Pooh and A Musical Too (2009) 14. Winnie the Pooh (2011)

=13. Carry On

1958-1992 (34 years) 1. Carry On Sergeant (1958) 2. Carry On Nurse (1959) 3. Carry On Teacher (1959) 4. Carry On Constable (1960) 5. Carry On Regardless (1961) 6. Carry On Cruising (1962) 7. Carry On Cabby (1963) 8. Carry On Jack (1963) 9. Carry On Spying (1964) 10. Carry On Cleo (1964) 11. Carry On Cowboy (1965) 12. Carry On Screaming (1966) 13. Don't Lose Your Head (1966) 14. Follow That Camel (1967) 15. Carry On Doctor (1967) 16. Carry On Up the Khyber (1968) 17. Carry On Camping (1969) 18. Carry On Again Doctor (1969) 19. Carry On Up the Jungle (1970) 20. Carry On Loving (1970) 21. Carry On Henry (1971) 22. Carry On at Your Convenience (1971) 23. Carry On Matron (1971) 24. Carry On Abroad (1972) 25. Carry On Girls (1973) 26. Carry On Dick (1974) 27. Carry On Behind (1975) 28. Carry On England (1976) 29. That's Carry On! (1978) 30. Carry On Emmannuelle (1978) 31. Carry On Columbus (1992)

12. The Muppets

1979-2014 (35 years) 1. The Muppet Movie (1979) 2. The Great Muppet Caper (1981) 3. The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) 4. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) 5. Muppet Classic Theater (1994) 6. Muppet Treasure Island (1996) 7. Muppets From Space (1999) 8. Kermit's Swamp Years (2002) 9. It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) 10. The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) 11. The Muppets (2011) 12. Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

=10. Star Trek

1979-2016 (37 years) 1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) 2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) 3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) 4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) 5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) 6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) 7. Star Trek Generations (1994) 8. Star Trek: First Contact (1996) 9. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) 10. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) 11. Star Trek (2009) 12. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) 13. Star Trek Beyond (2016)

=10. Phantasm

1979-2016 (37 years) 1. Phantasm (1979) 2. Phantasm II (1988) 3. Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994) 4. Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998) 5. Phantasm: Ravager (2016)

1979-2017 (38 years) 1. Alien (1979) 2. Aliens (1986) 3. Alien 3 (1992) 4. Alien: Resurrection (1997) 5. Alien vs Predator (2004) 6. Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007) 7. Prometheus (2012) 8. Alien: Covenant (2017)

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OBITUARY: Actress Patti Yasutake, Known for ‘Beef’ and ‘Star Trek’

Actress Patti Yasutake, best known for her roles in “Beef” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” passed away peacefully on Sunday surrounded by friends and family after a long, brave battle with cancer. She was 70.

Her career originated at East West Players in Los Angeles, where she worked with the legendary Mako for six years on stage, on staff and on the board performing over a dozen shows, including “Steel Magnolias” with an all-Asian cast in 2013.

Her stage work spanned three decades and included New Mexico Repertory Theatre, American Southwest Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Repertory Theatre, and The Westwood Playhouse (now The Geffen Playhouse).

One of her early roles was in Luis Valdez’s “I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinking Badges” at Los Angeles Theater Center in 1986. One of her most recent roles was in L.A. Theatre Works’ touring production of “Steel Magnolias,” which traveled to 28 cities across the country in 2019.

“I met Patti at East West Players when we were young actors at the beginning of our careers,” recalled actress and playwright Karen Huie. “I last worked with her in ‘Steel Magnolias’ at East West Players. She was a fierce and driven person who forged accomplishments.”

Film and television audiences best know Yasutake for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Fumi, mother-in-law of Amy (Ali Wong), on Netflix’s “Beef”; and the beloved Nurse Alyssa Ogawa on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (16 episodes, including the series finale, plus two movies, “Star Trek: Generations” and “Star Trek: First Contact”). She appeared at Star Trek conventions, starred in a Hallmark commercial for a USS Enterprise keepsake ornament, and an action figure of her character was produced.

At a mini-convention benefiting the Japanese American Collections at CSU Sacramento, Yasutake was featured along with George Takei (Sulu from the original series) and Cynthia Gouw (Caithlin Dar from “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”).

Yasutake was an Independent Spirit Award nominee for best supporting actress in “The Wash,” a film adaptation of Philip Kan Gotanda’s play. She played a daughter of a Nisei couple (Mako and Nobu McCarthy) going through a divorce.

She then made her major feature debut in Ron Howard’s “Gung Ho” — a comedy about a Japanese company taking over a U.S. auto plant — where her work as Umeki, the relocated Japanese wife earnestly trying to Americanize, led to starring in an ABC sitcom based on the movie. Gedde Watanabe played her husband in both the film and the TV series.

Her countless guest-starring roles included “The Closer” (as Kathy Tao, wife of Lt. Michael Tao), “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Bones,” “Flash Forward,” “The Unit,” and “Cold Case” — in an episode about the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. She was in such films as “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot,” “Blind Spot” and “The Road to Galveston.” The latter two enabled her to work with her acting idols, Joanne Woodward and Cicely Tyson, respectively.

As a theater director, Yasutake developed and staged world premieres at East West Players (“Doughball”), the Richmond Shepherd Theater (“The Single Man”), and Ensemble Studio Theater (“Father, I Must Have Rice”), along with a highly praised remount of “Tea,” Velina Hasu Houston’s drama about Japanese war brides, at the Odyssey Theater. She directed workshop presentations at the Mark Taper Forum, Arizona Theater Company, Los Angeles Theater Center, East West Players, Odyssey Theater, and Westwood Playhouse.

Yasutake was born and raised in Gardena and Inglewood, then graduated UCLA with honors in theater. She was preceded in death by her parents, Michael and Jean Yasutake, and her sister, Irene Hirano Inouye, a leader of the Japanese American National Museum and U.S.-Japan Council. She is survived by siblings Linda Hayashi and Steven Yasutake, a large extended family of nephews and nieces, and a family of friends and colleagues including Kyle Fritz and Jonathan Del Arco.

In a statement, her family said, “Patti was a loving daughter, sister and aunt and we will miss her. We are deeply grateful to her friends and colleagues for their love and support throughout her accomplished career.”

Her manager, Kyle Fritz, shared that “Patti was my first client when I began over 30 years ago. We enjoyed every day we got to work together, and I will miss her spirit, talent and tenacity, but most of all her friendship.”

A memorial open to her colleagues and fans will be held at East West Players. In lieu of flowers, a contribution to EWP would be appreciated. When details are finalized, they will be shared at: https://neptunesociety.com/obituaries/sherman-oaks-ca/patricia-yasutake-11927218

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Patti Yasutake, Screen and Stage Vet Known for 'Beef' and 'Star Trek,' Dies at 70

P atti Yasutake, a Los Angeles-based stage and screen vet known for work on Netflix's "Beef" and a number of "Star Trek" franchises, died Monday at age 70, TheWrap has confirmed.

The news came after a long battle with cancer, her manager Kyle Fritz said. He also shared that a memorial service honoring her work and life is forthcoming at L.A.'s East West Players, her longtime theater home.

Yasutake, who was born on Sept. 6, 1953, was raised in L.A. cities Gardena and Inglewood and later attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she graduated with honors. Yasutake is also the sister of Irene Hirano Inouye, the founding president of the U.S.-Japan Council.

Yasutake went on to perform at East West Players, which the nation's longest-running Asian American theater. While there, she worked under the theater's cofounder and longtime actor Mako ("The Perfect Weapon") for six years.

Yasutake made her made her official leap into the film and TV industry when she starred in the police drama "T.J. Hooker" in 1985. A year later, she appeared in Ron Howard's 1986 comedy "Gung." She went on to nab roles in "Boston Legal," Michael Toshiyuki Uno's "The Wash," "Lush Life" and more. In 1994, she was tapped to play Nurse Alyssa Ogawa in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and she later reprised the character in breakout shows "Star Trek Generations" and "Star Trek: First Contact."

Most recently she played Fumi, George's mother in the Netflix limited drama series "Beef." She's also had roles on "Bones," "Donato and Daughter," "Cold Case," "Dangerous Intentions" and "Grey's Anatomy."

Yasutake was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female in 1988 for her performance in "The Wash."

The actress is survived by her sister and brother Linda Hayashi and Steven Yasutake.

The post Patti Yasutake, Screen and Stage Vet Known for 'Beef' and 'Star Trek,' Dies at 70 appeared first on TheWrap .

Watch the First Ever ‘Strange New Worlds’ and ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Cast Crossover

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The Big Picture

• The final season of Lower Decks features an extended finale episode, promising an exciting conclusion and growth for the characters.
• Season 3 of Strange New Worlds will feature a Vulcan episode and a Hollywood murder mystery.
• Despite challenges, the crossover episode between the two shows was a success, with a unique blend of tones and fun experiences for the cast.

Last year, two of the best Star Trek shows came together to maximize their joint sci-fi slay with an epic crossover episode between the adult animated series Lower Decks and the episodic prequel series Strange New Worlds . However, because that episode dropped during the industry-wide writers and actors strikes, press for such a momentous fandom occasion was sadly limited. Now, by a stroke of luck and timing, Collider can bring you the first shared interview between these two casts. Last week at San Diego Comic-Con, Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub was chatting with the Lower Decks crew ahead of their final season, when their live-action pals from the Enterprise decided to crash the party for an epic joint interview.

During their 30-minute conversation, Weintraub spoke to both casts about filming the crossover episode, working with Jonathan Frakes , and how Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid were largely responsible for bridging the tone between the two shows . They also discussed the final season of Lower Decks , which will feature an extended finale episode , and what changes they had to make when they learned Season 5 would be the show's last. Season 3 of Strange New Worlds was also a hot point of conversation as Weintraub asked how they plan to top a crossover and a musical in the coming episodes.

The cast also teased Frakes’ highly anticipated return to the director's chair, which he has called the best episode he’s ever directed, as well as the teaser footage which sees five crew members turned into Vulcans . You can read the full conversation with Strange New Worlds ’ Ethan Peck , Rebecca Romijn , showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers , and Lower Decks ' Tawny Newsome , Jerry O’Connell , Noel Wells , and creator Mike McMahan in the transcript below or watch it in the video player above!

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Behind every great captain, is a crew keeping the ship from falling to pieces. These are the hilarious stories of the U.S.S. Cerritos.

COLLIDER: I am a huge fan of your series, and I'm really bummed that it's ending, but I'm also grateful that you guys got to make five seasons. It's like winning a lottery to make any show. Everyone watching this knows the show by now, but what can you tease about Season 5?

MIKE MCMAHAN: We've got some amazing Orion episodes. Noël, as Tendi, goes back to Orion for a little while, and you learn a lot more about Orion culture.

TAWNY NEWSOME: What do I do?

MCMAHAN: You do a lot of growing. You actually did a lot of growing last season.

NEWSOME: Growth and grappling.

MCMAHAN: Then Ransom is actually both equal parts dumbass and beloved commander, so as he's always been, but maybe more than ever before. We knew this was gonna be our last season pretty early, so instead of going out feeling final, it feels more like a fireworks show when they blast everything off at the very end. So it's like a huge celebration with everything I've been planning on doing put into one big party all season.

I’m so happy that you knew going in that this was going to be the end. How much did that allow for exponential character growth and lead everyone toward where they're ultimately going to go in the future?

MCMAHAN: We did not jump them ahead of where they are in the story. Instead, it feels like the end of a chapter. It feels like we're in chapter one of the story of Lower Decks. So it still feels like Lower Decks . It's still funny, it's exciting, it feels like it fits into canon, but it does feel like we've said something by the end of it. So, you could take the first five seasons and be like, “This is a full idea,” but it does not feel final , which I think is the best way for a comedy to be.

JERRY O’CONNELL: Wow, that was so well-put, Mike.

MCMAHAN: Thanks, guys.

O’CONNELL: He's a smart guy, our boss. He worded that perfectly.

NEWSOME: It’s like when you make a cheesecake, and then you put it in the fridge to chill. It firms, but it's not solid. You can still puncture it.

O’CONNELL: You can still puncture us!

NEWSOME: You can still puncture us.

O’CONNELL: It's funny, being a performer on it, I felt very satisfied with this season. I felt Mike did a great job.

How much does it cost for him to say that?

MCMAHAN: Too much.

O’CONNELL: It doesn't at all, really. To quote Tawny, “If I didn't have a good time, I would just be quiet.”

NEWSOME: [Laughs] That’s true.

O’CONNELL: It's really funny, I'm very proud as a performer, I'm very proud as an employee, but also, I'm really proud of my Lower Deck ers. I'm really proud of them.

NEWSOME: I’m proud, too.

Without spoilers, have you recorded all of Season 5? You're done?

NEWSOME: Yeah.

'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5 Will End With an Extended Finale

What was it like reading that last script and seeing ultimately where it was all going to be going?

NEWSOME: I refused at first. I said, “If I don't end it, it won't end, and we can just live here forever.” Then they tackled me in my home and asked me to come down to the studio to do it, so eventually we did it. It was bittersweet but lovely.

MCMAHAN: You joke, but we did keep adding and adding and adding to the finale because nothing was ever satisfying enough and there weren't enough goodbyes to tell in a funny way. Ultimately, what we ended up with is a gigantic episode that's really fun.

Is it longer than a typical episode?

MCMAHAN: Oh yeah.

MCMAHAN: I think a lot of the season actually is. It's a big season.

NEWSOME: It's a double-stuffed Oreo of an episode, for sure.

O’CONNELL: It was really interesting working on the finale of a series and watching Mike's process because you did a version, you honed it, you did a version, you honed it. It's funny, by the time that I did my last recording, you really did a great job, Mike.

NOËL WELLS: I feel like when I first recorded the episode, we didn't know that it was the final episode, but then when we had to make some changes…

NEWSOME: We're reading it, going like, “Well, this sure sounds like the end.”

WELLS: We had to make changes to some things just to adjust to that.

MCMAHAN: Comedies that end, comedies that have a final episode, that's usually not anybody's favorite episode. On a serious level, on this , we may have broken that. This might be somebody's favorite episode. A lot of people's.

A lot of the episodes are like 25 to 30 minutes?

MCMAHAN: They want them at 22, but because we're on Paramount+, we can rob from some episodes and add to the others and be a little more flexible.

Do you know the running time of the last episode? Is it like 35?

MCMAHAN: We're still working on it. The last I saw—my editor and line producer would kill me—right now, we're, like, eight minutes longer than an episode usually is, which is like an entire other act, basically.

NEWSOME: That's gargantuan at a half hour.

MCMAHAN: It’s really big, and we're not done with it. So, I don't know. We'll see.

I have so many follow-ups to that. Was it hard coming up with the last shot? The last thing?

MCMAHAN: No, that was the easiest part.

NEWSOME: No, at first you didn’t have…

MCMAHAN: The last shot . The very last shot.

NEWSOME: Oh, I'm talking about the last scene . At first, you didn't have that. I remember, I was like, “I can’t believe we're not doing blah, blah, blah. Doing et cetera, et cetera.” And then you did it.

MCMAHAN: We added a couple of things at the very end, and… Oh, man.

WELLS: Our fans are here!

MCMAHAN: The Strange New Worlds gang banging on the window.

NEWSOME: Akiva Goldsman is banging on the window like one of his monsters in I Am Legend .

'Strange New Worlds' and 'Lower Decks' Cast Finally Reunite to Talk About the Crossover Episode

I loved, loved the crossover episode. So let's talk a little bit about that because I don't know if you guys have ever done an interview together.

ETHAN PECK: No, we haven’t.

REBECCA ROMIJN: We barely got to talk about it because of the strikes. We wanted to talk about it from the mountaintops, and we couldn't.

NEWSOME: We just talked to each other about it. We were like, “Pretty cool, right?”

HENRY ALONSO MYERS: Mike and I were on the phone a lot .

Fans loved the episode, I loved the episode. Let's talk a little bit about the planning stages. Was it difficult to do? What was it like for the cast? Let's get into it.

MYERS: We didn't know what we signed up for. We wanted to do something that was a merge. A crossover episode is a classic Star Trek element and we really wanted to do that, and we love their show so much. We thought this would be one that no one would expect. We knew it was also a challenge because we had to animate a huge section of it, and then we knew we were gonna have to work with all of the folks that we could bring over into our world. Honestly, we wanted to get everyone in it. We had time for about two of them to do live-action, but we really wished we could have found a way to absolutely have everyone there.

AKIVA GOLDSMAN: Here's the thing that nobody will tell you: it was really hard . Fundamentally, it seemed like, “Well, they'll just come over.” But it turns out that they're animated, and we're real, and we have different tones in our show. The integration of their tone and our tone was a full-on job.

MCMAHAN: But you know what? Everything I heard from both casts was, “This is the most fun we've had.” It was a synergistic effect. It was hard, but it was getting to have the most fun doing both shows at once that we couldn't have gotten separately, which I thought was really cool.

GOLDSMAN: Real costumes. They like that.

MCMAHAN: No, we have them recording costumes!

NEWSOME: And we got paid more, so that was fun.

WELLS: You got paid more?

GOLDSMAN: That was a secret. That part was quiet.

ROMIJN: It was really fun watching Jack and Tawny make these minute adjustments to fix tonally what was the divide between animation and real. It was really fun watching you guys.

NEWSOME: Thank you. All props also go to Jonathan Frakes for helping guide that so expertly.

ROMIJN: He massaged that a lot.

NEWSOME: I don't mind being told to tone it down when it's Jonathan Frakes. Most people, I’m like, “Mmm, disagree.”

MCMAHAN: Did he ever tell you to?

NEWSOME: No. [Laughs] He did say, “Go harder.” At one point, he said, “Please say the script.” He said, “The writers would really like for you to say the words on the page.”

MYERS: I gotta say there were a bunch of ones that we were like, “We're gonna use this one,” because it was fun and funny. There were things that we didn't expect. The way that Boimler walked? When Jack did that, we were like, “Well, we have to use that shot because he's actually doing the walk,” which he's never gotten to do in real life before, so I think it excited him.

NEWSOME: I've seen him do it. That's just how he walks.

The thing about that crossover episode is it's so nice when everyone loves something, and rather than tearing things down online, it's all like, “Oh, that's great.”

'Strange New Worlds' Season 3 Turns the Crew Vulcan

With Strange New Worlds and the upcoming season, you did a musical episode, which was phenomenal, and you did this crossover episode. What can you tease about the upcoming season?

GOLDSMAN: We’re doing Vulcans.

MYERS: In addition to seeing a lot of people become Vulcans who you wouldn't expect, we get to see other people on the ship behave in ways—some of them who might actually be present today—that you've never seen them do before.

GOLDSMAN: That's mostly Jerry.

I saw the five-minute clip of the cast getting turned into Vulcans and not being able to get back, and it was fantastic. What's interesting for the cast is that you are having to act like a Vulcan and you're not used to doing something like that. What was it like for you having your fellow castmates acting as Vulcans? Are they talking to you about, “How should I do this?”

ETHAN PECK: Well, I didn't appreciate being the half-Vulcan and being ostracized and criticized for that. But they did seek my advice a little bit, the actors. I spoke probably most thoroughly to Celia [Rose Gooding], who plays Uhura. It was really fun to see everyone turn into Vulcans. It was kind of shocking, too. And funnily enough, it made me feel like I belonged more to see more pointed ears. But then, of course, they were very offensive.

MYERS: Weirdly, the hardest part wasn't the performance—performance came very easily to them—it was the hair. The hair was the hardest part, but also to give each of them their own specific feel and look. Yes, they are Vulcans, but that doesn't mean they all act the same.

NEWSOME: Vulcans are not a monolith.

ROMIJN: They all have their own brand of Vulcan. That was pretty surprising and fun to play off of.

Where is that in the season?

MYERS: It's Episode 8.

Is it really? Oh, wow. When you're in the writers’ room, you're coming up with pie-in-the-sky ideas, and then it's about, “How do we get this on the page? How do we get this to be filmed?” Are there certain things in animation that are more expensive than others? And how much does that dictate how much you can do in an episode? With Strange New Worlds , you obviously have a budget for the season. Can you talk about where and when you want to deploy the big resources in an episode, and how much does that impact two other episodes when you go big in Episode 6?

MCMAHAN: Mine is easy because red costs a lot more. If you use red on screen, it costs twice as much. The ink is just really expensive. For us, it's just, “How many voices do we have in the episode? How many minutes do we have?” Every minute is just compounding for us, and every voice, we only have a certain amount of people we can have on the show. So, we use every penny.

WELLS: But the great thing about animation is that you can invent anything and go anywhere, and there is no cap on what your imagination can be.

MCMAHAN: We can put in a lot more aliens, we're not paying for prosthetics, and we can do a lot more ships. We're not building new sets. We're drawing all that stuff.

MYERS: We did spend a bit of time beforehand talking about what were the existing sets from Lower Decks that we could use. I remember having a long conversation with you about, “What angles on the ship already exist? Which ones can we use? If they go in this direction, can we see this? Can we see that?” And then there was a whole thing where the set that we built on the AR wall, which existed both digitally, practically, and also in an animated style, was probably the most interesting one because these are divisions that probably never have to work together and we had to get them all in line. So, that was challenging.

We spent a lot of time beforehand trying to decide where the money's gonna go big and where the money is gonna go small. It's more like we're gonna spend a lot on this episode for TBD reason like we have a creature effect that's really expensive, we have a visual effect that is gonna cost a lot of money because we're gonna be out in space for a while. That's one thing. If we are gonna take that away, we have to give something else, like maybe turn a lot of people into Vulcans, for instance.

O’CONNELL: This is crazy too. Ethan’s body makeup is…

GOLDSMAN: And the CG that we have to do afterwards.

O’CONNELL: I've seen the cost, and it's astronomical.

MYERS: That was all set up for the original deal that he made on the show, and we're not actually allowed to change it.

GOLDSMAN: We're doing it in real-time right now, which is really pricey.

NEWSOME: You look great.

MYERS: You wouldn’t believe the effects that this has.

When you think about the episodes you've done thus far in Strange New Worlds , what scene or sequence do you consider the toughest one to have pulled off?

ROMIJN: Personally, I think the most work I put in was a scene that you and I had in the third season. It's a sequence of scenes that we got to do together.

PECK: Oh, I remember.

O’CONNELL: You guys are being so shady.

ROMIJN: In Episode 8.

PECK: Mine might have been the sequence in which Spock has an anxiety dream and fights himself. I had to play both sides of the fight, obviously. That was pretty complicated.

Obviously, you can read something on the page, and you could be like, “Oh, this is really good.” Sometimes it turns out better than you expected, and sometimes not so much. For all of you guys, what is an episode that you are just so happy with the way it turned out in terms of it being better than you imagined and it’s one of your favorite episodes of Star Trek?

O’CONNELL: The crossover episode that we all did. I don't recall in recent memory anyone else doing that, and the tone was perfect. They really pulled it off. I gotta say, I was extremely doubtful when it was announced.

ROMIJN: When they pitched it, I couldn't understand how they could possibly make it work, and it totally worked. I'm gonna go with the crossover episode, as well.

NEWSOME: I wanna shoot some love your way, Rebecca. The trial episode.

ROMIJN: “Ad Astra per Aspera.”

NEWSOME: When that episode came on, I don't think I read it ahead of time or anything. I think I just heard, “Oh, they're doing a trial episode,” and as a lifelong Trek fan, we've seen a lot of trial episodes, and so I was like, “Sure. This will be good and fine and whatever.” I was really blown away because of the portrayal that you brought to it. Also, it's really hard to do trial episodes in Star Trek that still feel like there's something new to say or to discuss in that way, and I thought you guys really nailed it.

ROMIJN: Thank you. It was a beautifully written episode.

MCMAHAN: I think to some extent, every single episode goes through this process of, “I like this– Oh no, it's a disaster. Wait, an army of talented, amazing, passionate artists are making it better and better and better.” For me, once you get music into an episode, it's such a relief because that's where the heart comes from. You've edited it, and you've lived with all these lines. So, I can't think of a single episode where you don't go through waves of joy and panic and then ultimately are just so relieved that it's good and that you're telling a story and making people laugh, and being in space together. I don't know. It's great. Star Trek's great.

I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is Strange New Worlds , you’re going to stay with me, but Lower Decks , you need to leave and do another interview.

Your show is one of my favorite things to watch. I love it so much. I'm so excited for Season 3. The thing a lot of people don't realize is that you were originally going to film Season 3, and then the strike happened. How did the scripts for Season 3 possibly change because of the extra time, or were they just locked?

GOLDSMAN: It's not quite as simple as it sounds because we were down, so we didn't actually have a lot of time. We had the time we had, then we stopped. Everything ground to a halt, and then we picked up again six weeks out of production. Really, what was problematic, or at least was unique, is the machine is typically really running six weeks out. When you're just six weeks out, everybody's getting it, and now we were starting all over again in terms of momentum six weeks out. So, it was energetically complicated, creatively annoying, but fundamentally, we made the episodes we planned to make.

One of the things about Season 2 is you really did it—the musical episode, the crossover. You were very ambitious. How ambitious is Season 3 compared to Seasons 1 and 2?

ROMIJN: Surprisingly ambitious. We didn't know how they were gonna push the envelope, and they did! We're really proud of some things in Season 3.

GOLDSMAN: It is amazing what you can do if you get polaroids of your cast and then offer not to put them on the internet. They will do things that are extraordinary.

PECK: Things you won't believe.

What can you tease without spoiling about Season 3?

PECK: The Robocop episode.

GOLDSMAN: The Star Wars crossover.

ROMIJN: The all the all-nude episode.

GOLDSMAN: I love that one.

PECK: The Godzilla episode’s gonna be great.

'Strange New Worlds' Season 3 Picks Up Immediately After Season 2

So Season 3, Episode 1, is there a big time jump from the last episode?

MYERS: No time jump at all. So, just almost an instantaneous pickup.

ROMIJN: Mid-battle.

Jonathan Frakes has said that he directed something in Season 3 that he considers his favorite thing that he's directed. I don't know if he's directed more than one episode.

MYERS: He directed one this season and one last season.

Can you say what episode number he directed?

MYERS: Episode 4.

When he said that out loud and announced that it was his favorite thing he's ever directed, were you like, “Yeah, he's probably right.” Because there must be something to this episode.

MYERS: That is a spectacular episode. I'm delighted with it.

ROMIJN: It was a really special experience. When he wrapped that episode, he and I were on the same flight going home that weekend, so we were at the airport, which was delayed by three hours, so I got to listen to him talk about, for three hours, how it was his favorite hour of television that he's ever directed.

What can you tease?

MYERS: It’s a very unique version of Kirk, one that we have not seen on the show before. All of our actors get to do things that we've never seen them do before.

GOLDSMAN: It's a Hollywood murder mystery. I think he’s said that, and if he hasn't, let us say it officially now. We are, as always, striving to create a different genre within ours, so there's a reason for it. It's not somebody having a dream, although we did once in the room have a thing about a dream and many Unas.

MYERS: That was the Godzilla episode.

GOLDSMAN: So, because of that, our actors get to do things that they haven't gotten to do previously. As you've been asking, and as Rebecca was saying, we do keep trying to push, because we were so delighted ourselves with the musical episode that we kind of were like, “Oh, fuck, what are we gonna do now?”

MYERS: It is like a genuine Star Trek episode. No one who knows and is familiar with Star Trek will say, “Oh, that doesn't feel like a normal episode.” They will be like, “Oh, I get it.” But it will surprise them.

How quickly during shooting are you able to let go and then turn it back on in the morning and how much is a piece staying with you the entire time?

ROMIJN: I'm able to let it go really quickly because I have kids who are there with me sometimes, and I gotta get home and make sure they're okay and make sure they're fed. You gotta be able to turn it off and on. But I think it's different for Ethan.

PECK: Well, I spend probably more hours as this character than I do as Ethan during the season, so I'd be lying if I said I wasn't altered a little bit. I do take a little bit of it home with me, which isn't so bad because he's a great guy, a person of integrity, a half-man of integrity. He's very aspirational and wants to be something pure, and I think that's beautiful. So, I'll take that home.

How much do you want to leave set wearing the uniforms and just go to Starbucks?

PECK: I would love to. All the time.

ROMIJN: I remember one time Melissa Navia’s family, her sister and brother-in-law and their kids came to visit us, and it was also during COVID, so we weren't really allowed to see anybody, but we all stepped outside on the street to go take a picture with them. We were just walking down the street in Mississauga in our uniforms. We were like, “This is weird.” It was awesome, though.

PECK: I would love to just go on a Starfleet field trip.

I personally think some viral stuff when you're filming Season 4 is just for all of you guys to go to the local supermarket in costume and just act like you're on an away mission, and just don’t acknowledge anybody, and let them film it.

MYERS: The problem is they wouldn't have money.

With currency, but in full costume.

GOLDSMAN: Do we own the idea? I'm just checking.

You can have it for free.

MYERS: That's very kind of you. Thank you.

When do you start filming Season 4?

MYERS: We start next year.

'Strange New Worlds' Season 4 Is Already In Development

Already knowing that Season 4 is coming up, are you writing on Season 4 already?

MYERS: We're in the room. We have the cards with the episodes, we know what they are, we know what the 10 episodes are going to be about. The network doesn't yet, but they will soon.

MYERS: We're excited for them to find out.

What is it like when you're in that blue sky in the writers’ room when anything is possible? Do you think about, “We want Episode 8 to go fucking big, so how do we save on these other three?”

MYERS: Yes. That is the conversation we have, but we don't look at it that way. We don't want every giant-budget episode to be back-to-back. We want to separate them because it takes some recovery time. Also, there are other things we can do in the meantime that also require a different kind of work. If there's one that is a romantic episode, we'll have that in one place and then we'll have a comedy and then we'll have a horror movie or a big space battle. We'll try to separate these with some space so that we're not doing everything hard altogether.

GOLDSMAN: Within reason, we start with all the kids being equal. So, we don't actually build with the idea of size as an organizing principle. Because remember, our show is a little different in that we rotate characters. We're an ensemble piece, but our lensing changes. Most typically, you hear it in the captain's log or the first officer's log, so you know who's walking you through the show, right? So fundamentally, in that way, just as we try to keep all the actors getting a shot, all the episodes get the same shot, and then as we lay them out creatively, some sort of go, “Oh, I could be big or small. Oh, I could only be big. Oh, I really need to be small.” Then we sort of move it around like that. But our show is pretty, again, within reason, evenly distributed where there's not a terrible swing between our most expensive episode and our least. They’re all right in the same strike zone.

At the beginning of Season 3, when you're in the writers’ room and you're figuring out the arcs, are you coming up with where Spock is in Episode 1 and where Spock is in Episode 10?

MYERS: Yes.

What can you tease about your character's journey in Season 3, from where it starts to where it goes?

ROMIJN: You get to see a lighter side of Una now that she no longer is hiding behind her shame of the Illyrian side of her character. You get to see a lighter side of Una.

PECK: At the beginning of Season 3, Spock is alive, and then he’s still alive at the end.

MYERS: Spoiler alert.

How much are you thinking in terms of, “We have a five-year plan, we have a seven-year plan,” or how much is it, because of the freedom of this show being able to do so many different things, just episode by episode and season by season?

MYERS: Episode by episode and season by season. We really try to treat everything like, “If this was our last episode, what would it be like?” We want to do the best version of everything. If this was all we got to do, what are the cool things that we will be really upset that we never got to do? We look at every season like that.

GOLDSMAN: And left to our own devices—which really means if Paramount will—we'll keep going into the TOS era, and we know how. That's the hope. But as Henry said, nothing is assured, so we come from a conservative place with great aspirations.

Both Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follows Captain Christopher Pike (played by Anson Mount) and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) in the 23rd century as they explore new worlds throughout the galaxy in the decade before Star Trek: The Original Series.

Watch on Paramount+

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10 longest-running tv show franchises.

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The Simpsons Season 36: Release Date, Cast, Story & Everything We Know

House of the dragon art imagines if alicent's children all shared her hair color instead of targaryen blonde, umbrella academy season 4 rotten tomatoes breaks series record.

• Fans continue to show loyalty to long-running TV series like Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, and Law and Order: SVU with hundreds of episodes.
• Animated shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy, as well as live sketch comedy show SNL, keep audiences entertained with unique humor.
• Doctor Who, spanning over decades, showcases the effectiveness of episodic narrative series in captivating audiences with its time-traveling adventures.

Streaming services seem to have nearly replaced all traditional televisions in most households, but still there are plenty of shows still airing with long and loyal fan bases out of all of them. Dating all the way back to 1963, there are many narrative television series on air that are still going strong.

From animated shows like The Simpsons to dramas like Law and Order , audiences continue to stay true to watching these shows, as well as some in younger generations that grow an appreciation and interest for them in their newer seasons today. These series shaped what TV is today and the future of streaming services, proving how effective and successful episodic narrative series can be. Some have withstood the test of time, running not just for a few seasons, but well over a decade - or even decades.

12 American Dad

2005-present.

American Dad is the most recent on the list, starting in 2005, and is still airing today with 366 episodes so far. American Dad is an animated comedy show that features a family that includes Stan Smith, a CIA agent, his wife Francine, and their children Hayley and Steve. Also living with them is a goldfish named Klaus and an alien named Roger.

This show was very popular upon release and stayed around because of the way it stands out against other animated comedy shows. It follows a family like many others, but its eccentric family, unique humor, and lack of jokes and episodes that revolve around current trends or politics all make it enjoyable to watch for audiences.

11 Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is a very popular medical drama that also first aired in 2005. It has 420 episodes so far and is still going strong, having an audience that spans across many generations. Grey's Anatomy follows an ensemble cast of young doctors working at a hospital and chronicles their everyday struggles with patients, their relationships with each other, and of course, the drama that comes with that.

The series has 20 seasons and viewers still have never lost interest in the stories that keep them hooked and ready for the next episode. It stands out against other narrative dramas with an ensemble cast in its theme of the medical field and that it takes place in a hospital. This could definitely be a difficult and unique topic to take on and portray accurately but it does, with the medical community, in particular, being fans of it.

2003-Present

NCIS is a show that first aired in 2003 and still has a strong following today with 467 episodes and 21 seasons. NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It is a crime drama with humor here and there, that follows a group of investigators who are led by Special Agent Leory Jethro Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon. The episodes follow the cast as they work together to solve a large variety of cases.

What makes a great series with an ensemble cast is a lot of the time, revolving around the likability of the characters themselves. This way, usually every audience member has a favorite, and each character has a very distinct personality. NCIS does this well in its writing and casting, helping it stand the test of time.

9 Family Guy

1999-present.

Family Guy is another animated television series that is centered around a hilarious family. It was first aired in 1999 and has released 22 seasons with 424 episodes so far. The Griffin family consists of Peter, his wife Lois, and their three kids named Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their talking dog named Brian.

This majorly popular show stands out with its twisted humor that probably doesn't fly with everyone, but they're bold in their risky jokes, and it makes for some hilarious moments. Its audiences have followed it faithfully since its release and it is still one of the most popular animated shows today.

8 Law and Order: SVU

Law and order: svu.

Law and Order: SVU was also first aired in 1999 and is still on today with 25 seasons of 551 episodes. SVU stands for Special Victims Unit. This is another crime drama with an ensemble cast of detectives. These are a part of the NYPD (New York Police Department) who investigate crimes of a sexual nature, unlike the original show Law & Order which ultimately dealt with murder cases.

This spinoff being on the same list as the original Law & Order , just attests to its great success and popularity. Audiences stay hooked on drama stories and especially when crime is involved, which only raises the stakes, making this a show that has stuck around for so long.

7 South Park

1997-present.

South Park is another popular animated series with what would be considered offensive humor . It has been airing since 1997 and now has 26 seasons with 328 episodes. It takes place in South Park, Colorado and follows the adventures of four young characters Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman.

It stands out with episodes surrounding current events of every kind, any current topics/ trends without holding anything back. This of course makes it not a family-friendly show, but that has not slowed down its success and it still has an audience today.

6 Law and Order

1990-present.

Law and Order is the longest running crime drama on television. It first aired in 1990 and is still majorly popular today with a total of 23 seasons and 456 episodes. As most crime shows do, this one follows an ensemble cast of detectives and prosecutors who work together to solve cases of New York City's serious and often deadly crimes.

This series is a staple on the televisions of many households still today, offering a casual but enthralling watch where audiences partly know what to expect, but each episode has a different theme that keeps them coming back for more night after night.

The Simpsons season 36 will carry Springfield's most famous family through into 2025, and here's everything we know about the show's return on Fox.

4 The Simpsons

1989-present.

The Simpsons is the most popular and longest running animated series on television that is still on today. The show first aired back in 1989 and now has 35 seasons with 768 episodes so far. This hugely popular comedy also revolves around a nuclear family. This one consists of Homer, his wife Marge, and their children Bart, Lisa, and baby Maggie.

The brightly-colored show plays out like a sitcom, which audiences always enjoy watching. It's unique in its style and iconic in its genre, taking a family sitcom and making it hilariously animated. It also can be watched by most families, making it more widely available to a variety of audiences.

2 Saturday Night Live

1975-present.

Saturday Night Live is one of the top shows on television, still today. SNL was first aired in 1975 and now has 49 seasons with an impressive 939 episodes so far, and it is still absolutely growing just as strong. The very first cast included actors such as Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, and more. This is a live sketch comedy show that also highlights current events in a hilarious way, on Saturday nights. It includes a celebrity host for each episode who is involved in sketches, and music performances in between some of them.

The show is highly anticipated after any current event, because SNL has made such a connection to portraying them in a way that makes light of them. There is truly nothing else like this show and especially nothing else who could pull it off so well, and for this long.

1 Doctor Who

1963-1989 & 2005-present.

Doctor Who is said to be considered the longest running show in television history that is still going today. Doctor Who first aired all the way back in 1963, and went up until 1989. It later returned in 2005, and now is still releasing new episodes. It has a total of 26 seasons and 883 episodes so far and about seven different variations of the Doctor over the years. The Doctor travels the universe and goes back in time using a Tardis , which upon outside glance appears as a British police box. He often travels alongside companions to save lives by going up against his enemies.

This series being around for so long only further proves the structure of a series or television show works incredibly well for audiences who anxiously await the next episodes after a release, whether it be on cable TV or a streaming service online.

Marvel and 'Star Wars' take note. 'Star Trek' is now Hollywood's ultimate shared universe

From 'Discovery' to "Strange New Worlds' via 'Lower Decks' and 'Prodigy', 'Star Trek' is leading the way.

Shared universes go back way further than Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and co sitting down for some post-Chitauri shawarma. Superheroes have been moonlighting in each other's comic books for decades, while Cheers regulars frequently paid Frasier a visit in Seattle. It wasn't until Marvel Studios launched the MCU ( Marvel Cinematic Universe ), however, that the concept started to gain serious mainstream traction. 

By incorporating the contrasting adventures of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Black Widow into one gigantic, overarching narrative, Marvel successfully blended cinematic spectacle with the "must-watch-every-episode" ethos of serialised TV. The MCU's famous end-credits stings also had the unexpected side-effect of convincing us all to stick around until the end of the closing titles of every movie, y'know, just in case. 

From a business point of view it's one of the shrewdest creative decisions ever made in Hollywood, a move that helped turn the MCU into the most lucrative franchise in history, while spawning an army of imitators. Some fell quickly by the wayside — Universal's planned Dark Universe didn't survive beyond its first release, "The Mummy" — while others (most notably DC's original answer to the MCU) simply felt tired in comparison. But with apologies to box-office behemoths Marvel, Star Wars and the Monsterverse home of Godzilla and King Kong, the most exciting shared universe of them all is currently located somewhere on the final frontier.

It's not quite "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" (sorry, Mr Spock), but " Star Trek "'s guiding principle since "Discovery" brought the franchise back to TV in 2017 has been variety. "Discovery" started out as an "Original Series" prequel, before warping off to the even-more-distant future of the 32nd century. That left a gap in the timeline for the less serialized voyages of a pre-Kirk Enterprise in " Strange New Worlds ". "Picard" picked up the story of the ageing Jean-Luc Picard two decades after "The Next Generation" crew's final voyage, while a pair of animated series — kids' show " Prodigy " and all-out comedy "Lower Decks" — were given freedom to take the most daring swings in "Trek" history. 

Throw upcoming spy adventure " Section 31 " and cadet-themed "Disco" spin-off " Starfleet Academy " into the mix, and it's clear that — beyond the obligatory warp drives, phasers and frequent violations of the Prime Directive — the main element unifying these very different series is their shared universe. Even their settings are far enough apart — geographically and chronologically — that there's little danger of storylines colliding in Spacedock. 

The contrast between the Alpha Quadrant and a certain galaxy far, far away is stark. Until " The Acolyte ", every canonical "Star Wars" movie and TV show had been set within a few generations of the Skywalker family tree. But even ignoring the limitations of that brief timeline, there's a creeping homogeneity to much of the saga's storytelling and dialogue. 

Scenes from "The Acolyte" (set around a century before "The Phantom Menace") feel interchangeable with moments in " Ahsoka " (several years after "Return of the Jedi"), while the powers-that-be at Skywalker Ranch seem more preoccupied with plugging holes in existing lore than telling stories for their own sake. What was the final episode of "The Acolyte" season one if not a prequel to the prequel trilogy?

"Star Wars" should be an exhilarating interstellar playground capable of supporting any story you can imagine, but it's increasingly constrained by strict rules that must, it seems, never be broken. "Star Wars" is calling out for its own "Lower Decks"-style comedy" , while the upcoming "'Goonies' in space" " Skeleton Crew " could be the kid-oriented launchpad that Prodigy has been for "Trek". "Star Wars" arguably needs both because right now, all that canon could easily feel daunting to anyone eager to take those precious first steps into a larger world.

Not that the current iterations of "Star Trek" deny the franchise's rich past. The glorious final season of "Picard" was a nostalgia-fest from start to finish, bringing back familiar friends and foes to give the "TNG" crew the send-off they deserved — if it's possible to replicate your cake and eat it, that season showed the way. "Prodigy" also goes big on the deep cuts, but crucially, it doesn't matter if you have no idea that the name of the USS Voyager-A's resident whale (Gillian) is a reference to "Star Trek IV". Or that a mention of the "dysfunctional" crew of the Cerritos is a callback to "Lower Decks". All of the in-jokes are simply window dressing holding the universe together, without excluding newcomers. 

That's the genius of the modern "Star Trek" universe, whose guiding lights clearly understand that expecting every viewer to be up-to-speed with the more than 900 episodes and 13 “Star Trek” movies in the back catalogue would be a surefire route to failure. The MCU and "Star Wars" lived charmed lives when they were built around a relatively small number of movies, but both franchises are now too vast and unwieldy to demand that even casual viewers become completists. 

Nobody should have to watch everything , so surely it's better for everyone if we accept that some people will set their targeting computers on "The Mandalorian" but avoid " Andor ", just as some "Discovery" fans can skip "Picard" without feeling they're missing out. 

Besides, we probably shouldn't be surprised that it's "Trek" leading the way, because this isn't Starfleet's first away mission to a shared universe. Back in the ’90s "The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine", "Voyager", four movies and even prequel series "Enterprise" shared characters and plotlines, to the extent that after hundreds of hours of TV, planet Earth was losing interest in shows that were becoming increasingly formulaic. Sound familiar? The franchise's latest overseers have boldly taken note — now "Star Wars", the MCU and the rest should follow in their warp trails.

"Discovery", "Picard", "Strange New Worlds" and "Lower Decks" are all available to stream on Paramount Plus, along with "The Original Series", "The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine", "Voyager" and "Enterprise". "Prodigy" is available on Netflix.

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Richard's love affair with outer space started when he saw the original "Star Wars" on TV aged four, and he spent much of the ’90s watching "Star Trek”, "Babylon 5” and “The X-Files" with his mum. After studying physics at university, he became a journalist, swapped science fact for science fiction, and hit the jackpot when he joined the team at SFX, the UK's biggest sci-fi and fantasy magazine. He liked it so much he stayed there for 12 years, four of them as editor. 

He's since gone freelance and passes his time writing about "Star Wars", "Star Trek" and superheroes for the likes of SFX, Total Film, TechRadar and GamesRadar+. He has met five Doctors, two Starfleet captains and one Luke Skywalker, and once sat in the cockpit of "Red Dwarf"'s Starbug.  

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Patti Yasutake of ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Beef’ Dies at 70

Ms. Yasutake played Nurse Alyssa Ogawa in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

By Alexandra E. Petri

Patti Yasutake, the actress known for her roles in the hit Netflix series “Beef” and in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” died on Monday at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 70.

The cause was cancer, her manager and friend of more than 30 years, Kyle Fritz, said.

Ms. Yasutake had a 30-year theater career, but she is most widely recognized for her recurring role as Nurse Alyssa Ogawa in Star Trek: The Next Generation , the television show that aired from 1987 to 1994. She appeared in 16 episodes and later reprised the role in the films “Star Trek Generations” and “Star Trek: First Contact.”

In an article on Startrek.com , the website’s managing editor Christine Dinh wrote that Ms. Yasutake’s Ogawa was one of two recurring ethnically Asian characters on the show at the same time, a rarity when there “were so few characters who looked like me on-screen in Western media that I could count them on one hand.”

“What stands out about Alyssa Ogawa’s story is that it spoke to the Asian American experience but wasn’t about that,” Ms. Dinh wrote.

More recently, she was cast in Netflix’s hit show “Beef,” a dark comedy in which Ms. Yasutake plays Fumi Nakai, the fierce and unapologetic mother-in-law of Amy Lau, played by Ali Wong.

Patricia Sue Yasutake was born in Gardena, Calif., on Sept. 6, 1953. She grew up there and in Inglewood. Ms. Yasutake graduated with honors from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a theater degree.

“There [were] really no opportunities to have a career as an Asian American actress; I didn’t do martial arts, I didn’t speak a second language,” Ms. Yasutake told Tudum, the official Netflix site, in an April 2023 interview . “Especially back then, that’s all they saw you as.”

She got her start in the 1970s at East West Players, the country’s longest-running Asian American theater and the largest producer of Asian American theatrical works. There, she worked with the Academy Award-nominated actor Mako, a co-founder of the theater who is regarded as an Asian American pathbreaker.

Her theater-directing credits include developing and staging the world premieres of “Doughball,” at East West Players, and “Father, I Must Have Rice,” at the Ensemble Studio Theatre.

In 1986, she played a Japanese wife earnestly trying to Americanize in Ron Howard’s “Gung Ho,” and reprised the role for ABC’s television series adaptation. In 1989, she appeared in Michael Toshiyuki Uno’s “The Wash,” an independent film about a second-generation Japanese American couple.

Her television appearances include “ER,” “The Closer,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Bones,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and “Cold Case” and her film credits include “Drop Dead Gorgeous” and “Blind Spot.”

In the interview with Tudum, Ms. Yasutake said that she didn’t think she’d ever get a role like Fumi in “Beef.”

“It feels deeply gratifying that not only did I have the opportunity to participate in it, and we had such fun [making it], but that the audiences are having such fun — I can’t even describe it. It’s just a thrill,” she said .

She is survived by siblings Linda Hayashi and Steven Yasutake.

‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Team Say Although the Show Will End With Season 5, Audiences Will Feel Like They Could ‘Keep Telling These Stories’

By Jack Dunn

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Across five seasons of the Paramount+ animated series “ Star Trek: Lower Decks ,” the voice cast got so close that costar Jerry O’Connell invited his fellow actors and “Lower Decks” creator Mike McMahan to his birthday party — where he read them a poem dedicated to their friendships.

“He had a printed-out set of papers — plural — that he read from,” joked McMahan.

“I love ‘Lower Decks,’ we’re a family,” O’Connell said. “And I wanted to celebrate my birthday with my cast.”

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“Star Trek: Lower Decks” follows the supporting crew of one of Starfleet’s most insignificant starships, the U.S.S Cerritos. Coincidentally, the first time O’Connell and Newsome met was at Comic-Con to unveil the first season of “Lower Decks,” an announcement which, according to O’Connell, was not received as well as they hoped.

“I met Tawny here at Comic-Con exactly five years ago when we announced the show…it was not thunderous applause,” said O’Connell. “It was rough announcing it.”

“It was a confused Hall H,” added McMahan.

Four years and two Emmy nominations later, “Lower Decks” is heading towards its series finale. Although it may seem natural for the show to end when the “Lower Decks” crew is inevitably promoted to higher ranks, McMahan feels he left the show in a place where the character’s stories could keep going.

“You do get to see everybody grow up in Season 5,” McMahan said. “To me, there isn’t a natural end to being ‘Lower Decks’ because I feel like I am still learning stuff all the time. So yes, the characters do go through a change this season, but ultimately where we end, you don’t feel like they aren’t still ‘Lower Decks’ and that we couldn’t keep telling those kinds of stories.”

With almost six decades of lore to pull from, fans can expect plenty of references to past “Star Trek” series in Season 5. Newsome teased the return of a “Star Trek” icon in the new season in an unexpected and rather grotesque way.

“There is a piece of a legacy character, and Noël’s character, Tendi, gets to spend a lot of time with them,” McMahan added. “There is a running theme across the season of these space potholes that the U.S.S Cerritos is closing that are these rifts in space. We had been given enough of a heads up that this could potentially be our final season, and so I suddenly opened up the cupboard of ideas and was like, ‘Alright, what are some mechanics to get all sorts of crazy things to happen in this season?'”

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